Digital Demons
by TenakuMihara
Summary: Eons after the creation of the Digital World and a war that nearly destroyed it, an Ancient Evil resurfaces. Can seven mere children stand against the seven Demon Lords? Revised Version Complete.
1. Prologue: Zeroes and Ones

Prologue: Zeroes and Ones

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

In the beginning, there was nothing. For an eternity that nothing persisted, and it seemed as though it would continue on for eternity. Then, from that nothing came zero. This zero was more than nothing, but not by much. The zero did not last long though, for it was quickly replaced by one. This one was more than the zero but it did not last long by itself either. The one was soon followed by another zero, which was quickly replaced by another one. Many more zeroes and ones followed afterwards. They continued to follow and replace each other in a never ending sequence until they built up to an enormous quantity and filled the nothingness. Where did these zeroes and ones come from? They came from the world of humans.

When humans first started to use computers, data came into existence. Data took many forms at the hands of humans: words, letters, numbers, images, programs and much more. As computers were used more and more, data began to pile up. Eventually there was so much data that humans began to lose track of it. Whenever humans lost track of data, it went to the place where the nothingness had been. There it accumulated and began to take on other forms, different from the numbers and programs of the humans.

The data built up incredibly fast and because of this it was not long before the data took on the form of its own world; a Digital World. This world mirrored the world of humans in many ways, but was different in just as many ways.

Like the human world it eventually developed life, but unlike the human world all digital life began as eggs. Eventually these eggs hatched, giving birth to the first digital monsters or Digimon. Again like the human world, the life there grew and evolved. The forms taken by the Digimon were very simple at first. However; as more data continued to compile, they grew larger and more complex.

There eventually came a point when it was difficult for Digimon to grow any further and so the number of Digimon at these higher levels of evolution dwindled. The highest level of evolution consisted of only fourteen Digimon, with powers far beyond that of any others. These Digimon were split into two groups; the Seven Benevolent Masters and the Seven Demon Lords. All fourteen of them were viewed as Gods by the rest of the Digimon, even those who had reached the final stages of their own evolution.

At first these groups coexisted in neutrality, neither seeking to upset the balance of the Digital World. However; the Demon Lords desires led them to gain more power and to want to control the Digital World by themselves. They waged war against the Benevolent Masters; a war which threatened to destroy the Digital World itself. Seeking to prevent this, the Benevolent Masters restricted the fight with the Demon Lords to a single area of the Digital World, sealing it away from the outside. Within this area the terrible battle raged on almost endlessly, until eventually the Benevolent Masters achieved victory over the Demon Lords. The area had been desolated by the battle and would later become known as the Dark Area.

The victory was a shallow one though, as the Demon Lords could not be destroyed. Instead the Benevolent Masters sealed the Demon Lords within the Dark Area. After sealing the Demon Lords away the Benevolent Masters watched over the Digital World in order to prevent the Demon Lords from escaping. For generations the Benevolent Masters maintained the seal, and the Digital World knew peace and prosperity.

However; the strain of maintaining the seal for so long proved to be too much for even the Benevolent Masters, who eventually began to weaken and perish. As the Benevolent Masters died off, the seal on the Dark Area began to weaken. This allowed the minions of the Demon Lords to break free and disrupt the peace of the Digital World. Fortunately; so long as even one of the Benevolent Masters remained alive, the seal would never be fully broken and the Demon Lords would remain trapped. However; it seemed only a matter of time until the last of the Benevolent Masters perished. Something needed to be done that would end the threat of the Demon Lords once and for all. That is where our story begins…

**Revision Notes: **Welcome to the revised edition of Digital Demons. If things go as I hope them to, then this edition should provide a better reading experience than the first edition. In the edited edition's notes, I shall be detailing any major changes made to the chapter's progression. Things such as grammar and spelling shall be addressed, but I won't be detailing them, since they're fairly mundane. As for this, the prologue, a reviewer pointed out to me that I forgot to differentiate between the regular mega level Digimon, and the God-class status of the Demon Lords and Benevolent Masters.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this revised edition; I hope you all enjoy it.


	2. The Children of Virtue

Chapter 1: The Children of Virtue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

It was early afternoon, at a park in the middle of a city. Although there weren't many people in this park, a young girl wearing a green sundress could be seen. She was playing and collecting flowers, seemingly enjoying herself. She was behaving just like any child would be on an ordinary afternoon. However; she would soon discover that this afternoon would be far from ordinary.

Right before the girl's eyes, a massive column of light appeared, descending from the sky. The girl did not seem frightened or startled, but rather intrigued by the light. When the light faded, a figure appeared standing before the girl, having apparently arrived inside the light. The only way to describe this figure was to call him angelic. He wore a flowing white robe, and two white, feathered wings were mounted on his back. The upper half of his face was hidden by a helm, which bore a mark in the shape of a crucifix.

The angel looked around and observed his surroundings. He seemed lost, as though he was not sure where he was. The girl walked up to him, and tugged at his robe. He looked around, before realizing that the tug came from below. He looked down to see two brilliant blue eyes surrounded by flowing blonde hair staring up at him.

"Mister Angel sir," she said unabashedly, "that light was really pretty. Can you do it again?"

The angel was caught off guard by what the girl said, having been expecting something more inquisitive. He smiled at her before speaking; "I could, but only if you answer my question first."

"Okay sure," she said, still smiling.

"Is this the world of humans?"

"Of course it is silly; where else would it be?"

"I'm not sure but I just wanted to check if I was in the right place." After saying that, the angel, good to his word, produced a spark of holy light from his hand. The girl giggled and applauded. While she was distracted he focused his unseen eyes on her. Her heart shone with a remarkable brilliance; that of a virtuous spirit. The angel smiled, pleased to see that he had so quickly found someone worthy.

"What's your name little girl?" he asked.

"I'm Hanae Tanaka, nice to meet you," she replied while holding out her hand.

The angel took her hand and shook it, bending down a little to do so. "This may sound strange," he began, "but I need your help with something. I have to find some other friends first though. Do you think you could wait here for a little while?"

"Well that's okay I guess, I was planning on playing in the park for the rest of the afternoon."

"Thank you very much." With that, the angel took off in search of six other virtuous humans. He decided that he would look for young ones like the girl since her light had been so bright.

* * *

Bright lights were flashing all around and the sound of various buzzers and bells filled the air. It was a Saturday afternoon and the arcade was packed. There was a crowd around one particular console. At this console a young man with spiky red hair furiously twiddled a joystick and a set of buttons. The odd thing about this boy was that he was wearing a pair of goggles. The crowd murmured excitedly, amazed by the pace of his gaming.

"Just a little farther," the boy muttered to himself. There was a loud, pixilated explosion, indicating that the boy had gotten a game over. The crowd seemed disappointed, and dispersed quickly.

"That was amazing Daichi," said a portly boy standing next to him, "If you had held on a bit longer, then you might have set a world record."

"Well I wouldn't go that far," replied Daichi, grinning. "Still, it is a personal best. I'll just have to keep trying."

"I wish I had your determination."

"Meh it's not all that much to gloat about. It doesn't seem to work for school or anything else of importance."

"Well, I have to go," and with that the portly boy left the arcade with a few other kids.

"C'ya round," Daichi called after him. He walked to the other side of the arcade where a change machine stood. He inserted a bill and withdrew a bunch of tokens. He then returned to the console with the intention to start playing again. He was just about to insert his token when a voice spoke to him.

'_Child of virtue, please hear my plea.' _Daichi looked around the arcade but there was no one so much as looking at him.

"What the?" he said to himself. The voice sounded out again;

'_Come to the central park, time is short.'_

Daichi looked around again to make sure no one was talking to him. The voice seemed to be coming from out of nowhere.

"Those guys must be up to something. Oh well, it might be fun." He pocketed his tokens and threw on a backpack. He then left the arcade, running off towards the park.

* * *

The door opened out onto the landing of the old fashion style home. Inside, it seemed as though the room was being used as a gymnasium. After opening the sliding door, a young girl with short brown hair tied in a ponytail walked onto the landing and sat at the edge. She was wearing a karate outfit and looked as though she had been having an intense session. There was a smart looking bruise on her cheek, serving as an indicator of a rather nasty impact. She took a sip from a water bottle and sighed.

"Looks like I'm still not good enough to beat you, eh bro?" she said.

"You came fairly close this time Ayame," said a boy who walked out of the gymnasium and joined her on the landing. He also had brown hair but it was shorter than Ayame's. He was wearing a similar uniform to hers. His lack of bruises indicated that he had been the victor in the match that had taken place.

"Nah I don't think so Seiichi. You always have control in our sparring matches, and today's was no different."

"Perhaps you would do better if you took time to strategize and study your opponent's movements before attacking."

"You may be good at that sort of thing but I don't have the patience for it."

"Well at least you're honest. Still a little bit of patience goes a long way."

"Yeah but if ever there comes a time when you need to act first and ask questions later, you'd be out of luck. Things would happen before you could make a plan and then you'd be in real trouble."

Before Seiichi could reply, he heard a voice; _'Virtuous children, hear my plea.' _Seiichi and Ayame looked at each other, their green eyes meeting. They then looked around the yard, but no one else was there. _'Come to central park, time is short.'_

"Did you hear that?" he asked.

"Yes, but what was it?"

"I don't know; give me a minute to think."

"You heard it though; 'time is short,' that means we need to get going." Ayame ran back into the house, intending to change.

Seiichi sighed, not happy with his sister's recklessness. Nonetheless he was curious about the voice, despite his hesitations. He also wanted to make sure Ayame wouldn't get into trouble, so he followed her back inside.

* * *

The sound of gentle waves falling could be heard mingled with the occasional cry of a gull. A young boy with flyaway blonde hair treaded through the shallow water with a surfboard tucked under his arm. The name 'Evan' could be seen painted on the face of the board. When Evan got out of the water, he propped his board up in the sand. He shook the water from his hair and smiled. He had been there since early in the morning, but now the waves had died down.

He turned back to the water when he heard a splashing sound. He looked down and saw a fish caught in a plastic six-pack holder. He walked over to the fish and picked it up. He plucked the plastic holder off of the fish and then dropped it back in the water.

"Man, I really wish people wouldn't do that," he said to himself, holding up the holder. "Stuff like this wrecks the beach for everyone." He walked back over to his bag and pulled out a towel and began drying himself off. He replaced the towel in his bag and threw on a t-shirt.

Evan walked back down the beach to retrieve his surfboard when a voice called out to him; _'Virtuous child, hear my plea'. _He looked around the beach to see who was calling for him. He didn't see anyone, and that puzzled him. The voice called again; _Come to central park, time is short.' _

Although Evan was confused by the voice, his gut told him he needed to answer its call. He had served as a volunteer lifeguard for two years and knew that it was never right to ignore a call for help. He grabbed his board and propped it against a nearby shack, alongside several others. He then hastily threw his shoes on, grabbed his bag, and ran off towards the park.

* * *

"I already told you I don't want to go there," exclaimed the voice of a young boy with messy black hair.

"But Ren, your father is just looking out for you best interests," replied a woman's voice, "it's a great school with excellent facilities."

"That's not the problem mom," snapped Ren.

"Then what is?" Asked his mother.

"The problem is that dad doesn't want me to go there for my best interests. He just wants to turn me into a copy of himself."

"Don't talk about your father that way. He loves you and he wants you to be successful."

"Yeah; at becoming another version of him," he scoffed.

"Ren you know your father would never force you into something you're not comfortable with."

"Then why is he pushing so hard to get his way?"

"He's pushing hard because he really thinks it's the best thing for you."

"Well he's wrong," exclaimed Ren. He forcefully stood up from the table, knocking over his chair. He then stormed out of the kitchen into the front hall. He slipped on his shoes and exited the house, slamming the door behind him.

He got halfway down the street before he slowed down. He sighed and muttered to himself; "I shouldn't have yelled at mom, she didn't do anything. I just wish dad would realize that I don't want to follow in his footsteps."

He continued walking for a while before he heard a whisper in his ear; _'Virtuous child hear my plea.'_ Ren looked behind him, thinking someone was following him. When he didn't see anyone he figured he had imagined it and resumed walking. It wasn't long before the whisper came to his other ear; _'Come to central park, time is short.' _Ren looked behind him again but still saw nothing.

"Come to the park huh? Well; anything is better than going back home right now." He turned around and started trudging towards the park, "Hopefully the park will at least be peaceful."

* * *

There was no sound, save for the occasional shuffling of papers or the scratch of a pen. A young girl with long black hair sat hunched over a desk that was covered with books. She was scribbling away on a note pad while furrowing her brow. She had bags under her eyes, and looked like she hadn't slept in quite some time. She had been in the library studying for her high school entrance exam since morning, but had also been studying late the night before.

Her eyelids started to droop as she began to doze. Eventually her eyes shut completely and her head fell forward onto the desk. When she woke up she turned bright red, embarrassed about falling asleep at the library.

She brushed some hair out of her face and shook it back into place. She then picked up her glasses, which had fallen off, and placed them back on her face. She looked down at the books she had been reading and saw a small wet spot on the page. She let out an annoyed sigh and rubbed at the wet spot with her sleeve hoping to dry it off.

After she had dried the wet spot, she was about to start working again. Before she could, she thought she heard a voice; _'Virtuous child hear my plea.'_ She looked around, but there was no one close enough to her for her have been able to hear, unless they had been yelling. She placed her head in her hands and sighed.

"Great Kioko," she said to herself, "not only are you falling asleep in the middle of the day, but now you're hearing voices." She looked around again to double check if anyone was sitting near her. _'Come to central park, time is short,' _came the voice again.

"Okay I get it," said Kioko, talking to herself again. "I've been studying too hard and my brain is telling me to take a break. Come to think of it, the park would make a nice change of scenery."

Kioko stood up from the table and pushed the chair back in. She placed her books back in her bag and slung it over her back. She picked up a beret and placed it on her head. Smiling, she walked out of the library.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon when the children started to gather at the central park. The first to arrive were Seiichi and Ayame. They had both changed out of their sparring outfits, and were now wearing standard school uniforms. Ayame's bruise had been covered by a bandage. The entered the clearing in the middle of the park and looked around. The only person around aside from themselves was a little girl picking flowers.

"So who do you think it was that called us here?" asked Ayame.

"I'm not sure yet, but I don't think it was that little girl," replied Seiichi, gesturing at Hanae.

"Well then, who could it have been?"

As soon as Ayame asked this question, Daichi ran into the clearing. He looked around the clearing as they had and then walked up to them. Before he could say anything however; she interjected.

"So; were you the one who called us here? If this is some sort of joke I'm going to whup your sorry butt."

Daichi jumped back at the threat from Ayame; "No I didn't call you guys here… Wait; did you guys hear a voice telling you to come to central park too?" Ayame and Seiichi looked at each other and then both nodded to Daichi. "I thought it was some of my friends pulling a prank on me. Guess not."

Evan was the next one to enter the clearing. He ran into the middle of the group and stopped, panting briefly. He then looked up at the other three;

"Were you the ones calling for help?" he inquired.

"No," replied Daichi. "It wasn't us, but that means whoever called us here called you too."

Ren and Kioko arrived at the park at about the same time. However; his entrance was overshadowed by her spectacular fall to the ground, after tripping over a tree root. As the others went to help her he remained silent and leaned against a tree.

"Are you alright?" asked Ayame, helping Kioko stand up.

"Yes I'm fine." she replied, dusting herself off. "I hope I'm not interrupting your meeting or something."

"Did you get called here by that strange voice as well?" asked Seiichi.

"Wait, you mean that wasn't my subconscious telling me to take a break from studying?"

"We all came here because we seem to have heard a strange voice. We still haven't figured out who it was yet."

Evan looked over at Ren, who had just walked over to the rest of them; "Was it you who called us here?"

Ren shook his head, "I imagine I heard the same voice that all of you did."

"Well then who was it?"

"Are you guys the friends that mister angel said he was going to bring?" asked Hanae, timidly approaching the older children.

Everyone else looked down at Hanae; "Mister Angel?" they said in unison.

As they said this, a bright light suddenly appeared next to the group, causing them all to turn and stare in shock. Standing, or rather floating before them was the same angel that had spoken to Hanae earlier. Everyone was rendered speechless at the sight of him, except for Daichi who managed a 'whoa'.

"Children of Virtue," called out the angel, "thank you all for hearing my pleas. I have called you all together here because our world is in danger. The seven of you may be one only ones who can save it."

**Revision Notes: **The only obvious plot change to this chapter is that it is now the first chapter in the story. I removed the original first chapter because it seemed, in retrospect, unwise to introduce characters that were secondary to the main cast before anyone else. Due to that, I had to add a descriptive paragraph for Holyangemon here and modify the intro. Everything else in this chapter was grammar based.


	3. To the Digital World

Chapter 2: To the Digital World

The seven children stared at the angelic figure blankly, until Kioko spoke up;

"Okay I have definitely been working too hard. Now I'm seeing things."

"The rest of us can see him too y'know," stated Daichi.

"Is this some kind of trick?" asked Ayame, giving him a skeptical look.

"No, I am most serious," replied the angel. "The seven of you are needed to save our world."

"Who are you anyways?" asked Seiichi, cautiously.

"I am Holyangemon. I serve as a vassal of the Benevolent Masters and directly under Lord Seraphimon."

"Why did you pick us?" added Evan.

"The seven of you possess hearts that are virtuous and pure."

Several of the other children looked like they were going to start hounding him with questions, so Holyangemon held up a hand to silence them.

"Now, before you ask me anything else, I must state again that time is short and my master is waiting. He will be better suited than I to answer your questions."

The seven children looked at each other. Hanae was smiling, Kioko looked confused, Ayame and Seiichi looked skeptical, Evan looked intrigued and Ren remained expressionless.

"Awesome," exclaimed Daichi, causing the rest of the children to turn their attention to him. "When do we get to meet him?" After Daichi's burst, the other children seemed a little keener on listening to Holyangemon.

"We shall travel to his palace as soon as we are able. First I must ask, and this may seem like a strange question, but do all of you possess a digital or electronic device of some kind?"

The children looked at each other again, somewhat confused. They shrugged it off and started rummaging through their pockets. Ayame and Seiichi took out a pair of matching cell phones. Kioko and Ren pulled out digital music players. Daichi presented a handheld video game and Hanae brought up a keychain, which appeared to be a virtual pet.

"Um I came here right from the beach," said Evan, "so I don't have anything electronic with me."

Hanae walked up to Evan and presented him with another keychain, this one also a virtual pet. "I have an extra one so you can borrow it but make sure to give it back okay."

"Thanks," replied Evan, taking the pet from her.

"Hold them out please," stated Holyangemon. After the children held their respective devices out, Holyangemon brought out a small device, no bigger than a cell phone. It was rectangular in shape, with rounded corners. It had four buttons positioned below a blank screen. He pressed one of the buttons on it, causing it to emit seven beams of rainbow coloured light. One of these beams of light flew into each of the children's devices.

The children's devices glowed brightly and changed shape. They took on an appearance almost identical to the device held by Holyangemon. The only difference was that their devices had three buttons each instead of four.

"Whoa," said Daichi once again. The children observed their new devices briefly, but were distracted from them by the emergence of a massive column of energy. The windows of the children's devices began to glow as they were enveloped by the column. As they entered the column the children seemed to lift off the ground, causing all but Evan to fall over.

By the time the other children managed to stand back up, the world was already fading into nothingness around them. The children were rendered speechless, except for Daichi, who managed an impressed whistle. Kioko slumped over in a shock, still in disbelief over her circumstances. She was helped up by Ayame who patted her on the back and told her not to worry.

* * *

It was dark, but not so dark that seeing was impossible. There was no sign of the Sun, Moon or any stars in the sky. Even so, there was an eerie twilight hanging over the land. What little of the land could be seen in that twilight was barren and torn. It was also very empty, with only an occasional twitch of movement indicating life. Despite this emptiness, seven figures were gathered together in the twilight. Most were the size of humans, but two were much larger than the rest.

"So; the fact that you have all come here means that you have felt it as well," called out a voice.

The voice that spoke next was deep and booming. "Another of the Benevolent Masters has fallen. As such, we are that much closer to regaining our place of power."

The next voice to speak sounded very irate. "I'm getting sick of waiting! Why don't we just smash our way out of here?" The tirade given by this figure was followed by the sound of a revving engine.

"Patience my friend," came another voice. This one was barely above a whisper. "The Benevolent Masters have squandered their power holding us here. By waiting patiently, we have managed to avoid a similar fate. It is only a matter of time before we shall be free once more."

"There is something that is bothering me though." This next voice carried with it a regal tone. "Shortly after the death of the Benevolent Master, I felt another surge of energy. It was different from anything else I've ever felt, and I'm not sure what it was."

The voice that followed was that of the only female member of the group. "Perhaps the last Benevolent Master is making some desperate, last minute attempt to try and stop us."

The irate voice spoke up again. "Heh; it's not like anything he tries now is going to work. It's way too late."

"Still," said the whispery voice, "we would do well to find out what he is up to. I believe it is time for our eyes and ears on the outside to get much more closely involved."

At these words, another figure appeared from the shadows amidst the other seven. "Do you have need of me my lords?" he asked.

"Yes," replied the voice that had been the first to speak. "We believe that the last Benevolent Master is up to something. We would very much like to know what, if anything, that is. If you find it to be something of concern, then you may take whatever measures you feel are appropriate."

"As you wish my lords," said the eighth figure.

The eighth figure was enveloped by shadows, disappearing as suddenly as he had appeared. After his departure the other seven figures also dispersed. With their departure, the land was once again lifeless.

* * *

As suddenly as it had faded away, the world rematerialized in view of the children. However; they were clearly not in central park anymore. When the column faded the children saw that they were in an ornately decorated room with crimson drapes, marble flooring and an immaculate glass ceiling. At the back of the room were three tall thrones, upon one of which a man was sitting.

At least, he had seemed to be a man at first glance. Upon closer inspection, this person was clearly not human. He was clad from head to toe in ornate white and blue armour, topped by a helmet that covered his whole face. His armour was adorned with golden symbols, and his helmet bore a crucifix much like Holyangemon's. Jutting out from the back of his armour were ten golden coloured wings. The children realized that this must be Seraphimon.

Seraphimon stood from his throne and walked slowly towards the children. As he approached them he gazed at them intently. He saw, through his unseen eyes, the same bright glow that Holyangemon had seen, indicating their virtuous hearts. Although it could not be seen for his helm, Seraphimon smiled. He spread his arms and spoke in an inviting tone; "Welcome children; to the Digital World."

Holyangemon approached Seraphimon hurriedly and stood at his side. Seraphimon then turned from the children and addressed Holyangemon; "You have done well my friend."

"I only pray that I have not been gone too long," he replied.

"I know not how long you spent in the human world, but much time has passed here. I regret to inform you that Lady Ophanimon has perished in your absence."

"It saddens me to hear that my lord."

"Fortunately, all may be remedied by your bringing of these human children. I only hope that they can be kept safe until they are ready."

"Is there any immediate cause for concern?"

"As of yet there is not. However it is possible that knowledge of your journey has reached the Demon Lords. Therefore I need you to take up the guard while I address the children."

"At once my lord," replied Holyangemon enthusiastically. With that he turned and left the throne room. The children stood in silence the entire time. After Holyangemon left, Seraphimon turned his attention back to the children;

"I am sure that you all have many questions for me. I intend to answer any questions you may have, but first I shall tell you of our world and why we need you. After that you may ask any questions you have that were not answered."

The children looked back and forth at each other, then back to Seraphimon. They nodded in unison and gave him their attention.

"As I said when I welcomed you, this place is called the Digital World. This name comes from the fact that this world is made up of digital information. This digital information comes from the computers and networks of your world."

Daichi was about to blurt something out, but Hanae shushed him.

"Originally this digital information was simple and didn't have a form beyond excess data. However; it eventually accumulated in sufficient quantities to allow for the creation of more complex forms. The most complex of these forms would be this world itself. The data also took on the form of living creatures, like Holyangemon and I. We are called Digital Monsters or 'Digimon' for short."

Daichi's excitement at hearing all this was visually apparent. The other children listened with interest, except for Kioko who still seemed dazed.

"Eons ago there was a terrible war. It was I and six other powerful Digimon known as the Benevolent Masters pitted against the Seven Demon Lords; the most evil Digimon to ever exist. We managed to defeat them, but only just. We sealed them away from the rest of the Digital World, and there was a time of peace. This peace was unfortunately short lived, as the strain of keeping the Demon Lords sealed turned out to be too much for us. As it stands, I am the last survivor of the seven."

Daichi's excitement dimmed somewhat, since even he knew that wasn't something to be excited about. Hanae looked like she could burst into tears.

"With the other Benevolent Masters gone, the barrier is very weak. Already the minions of the Demon Lords have disrupted the peace of this world. You have all been called here because you are humans of virtuous heart. That virtue may be the key to defeating the Demon Lords once and for all." Seraphimon briefly fell silent and then added, "I will now hear your questions."

Daichi's hand shot up like a rocket, but before waiting to be addressed he blurted out; "So is this like the inside of a computer game?"

"I am not sure what that is," replied Seraphimon, "but if it has something to do with data networks or computers then the answer is probably yes."

"Wicked," exclaimed Daichi, "So what kind of gear do we get?"

"If I assume correctly, you have already been equipped with the most important tool that you will need."

"You mean these?" asked Evan, pulling out the device that had once been Hanae's virtual pet. The other children pulled their own and presented them as well.

"Yes, those are replicas of the ancient holy device, known as a 'Digivice'"

"But what about our families back home," chimed in Ayame, "They're probably going to notice that we're missing and have a fit." Ren grunted quietly at the mention of family, remembering the fight with his.

"Actually I don't think that's going to be a problem," said Seiichi. The other children gave him odd looks. "When we first arrived here Seraphimon said that much time had passed since Holyangemon left. However; we all heard his voice and came to the park within a few hours. If that's true, then it means that time passes differently here."

"That is correct," stated Seraphimon, "but the exact extent of the gap is unknown. I can however, hazard a guess. I imagine that you could spend months here and not even lose an hour of time in your own world."

Collective murmurs of awe came from the children, again with Daichi as an exception, letting out an excited 'awesome'.

"How are you sure that we're the ones you need?" asked Evan, "I mean, we're just a bunch of kids."

"As I have said you were chosen because of your virtuous hearts. The very fact that you have the holy Digivices is proof enough. They would not have appeared to anyone who did not possess a virtuous heart."

"So what do we have to do then?" asked Ren.

"The Digivices that you have been given symbolize a link between humans and Digimon. They will serve as a connection between you and your partners."

"Partners?" said the children in unison.

"You will each be partnered with a Digimon. They will serve as your protectors while you are in this world." Seraphimon then spread his arms wide and tilted back his head. Six rays of light came in through the ceiling, and a seventh came from Seraphimon's body. Each of these rays landed in front of one of the children. Within each of these rays, a figure appeared. When they faded, a Digimon was standing in front of each of the children.

The Digimon in front of Daichi was a small dragon. It had teal coloured scales, red horns and wings and a white underbelly. It had three claws on each hand and foot. He let out a big yawn and then smiled at Daichi; "Hiya, I'm Dracomon."

The Digimon before Ayame bore some resemblance to a rabbit. It had pink and purple fur with a yellow crescent shaped patch on its forehead. It was wearing a pink ribbon with a pin that looked like a crescent moon. "Pleased to meet you," she said with a curtsey, "My name is Lunamon."

Seiichi's partner looked like a cat standing on its hind legs. It had bright red fur with a yellow tuft on its chest. There was a small flame on its tail and it was wearing a set of orange amulets, one on each wrist and another on its forehead. "Yo," he said, "I'm Coronamon."

Evan's Digimon looked like some kind of small reptile. It was green with blue stripes, and had a white belly. It had clawed feet and a large orange fin on its back. "Hey dude I'm Betamon," he said to Evan, "lookin' forward to working with you."

Ren glared at his partner, evidently displeased with what he saw. It resembled a small dinosaur with skin the colour of pixilated green camouflage. It was wearing militaristic body armour and had a small rocket launcher strapped to its back. "Um, hi," he said, unsure about Ren's glaring; "I'm Commandramon."

Hanae's partner was barely visible because she was hugging it tightly, a broad smile on her face. It resembled a small, fluffy dog. Its fur was a pale yellow with red ears and tail. It struggled free of Hanae's grasp and shook itself. "Nice to meet you too," he said, "I'm Labramon."

Kioko still seemed somewhat dazed and her partner was nudging at her leg to get her attention. It was a small mammal with ears like a rabbit, but with a tail that looked like feathers. Its fur was mostly purple with some red splotches. Kioko picked her up and looked her over. "You're a funny looking thing aren't you?"

"That's not very nice," she replied, "I'm Elecmon and I'm going to be your partner."

"Now, I'm sure you're all going to want to get to know each other a little better so…" began Seraphimon. Before he could finish, there was a loud rumble. Seraphimon looked up, before calling out to the children; "GET DOWN!"

The children were all pushed down by their partners as something crashed through the ceiling. Seraphimon jumped back as it hit the floor, followed by a shower of broken glass. The great black monster that fell through the ceiling tried to get up, but it was struck by a beam of light and disintegrated. Holyangemon descended through the broken ceiling, landing in front of Seraphimon.

"It is as you feared my lord," he said, panting. "The Demon Lords have learned of our actions, and have launched an attack against us."

**Revision Notes: **I moved the Demon Lords' introduction here from the beginning of the former chapter 1. I felt it would be good to maintain that vague introduction, as it created the right amount of mysteriousness surrounding them. Other than that the only changes were the addition of a descriptive paragraph for Seraphimon, and the changed time of Ophanimon's death.


	4. The Sacrifice

Chapter 3: The Sacrifice

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

"Thank you for informing me; although it was somewhat obvious, given that it just came crashing through our roof." stated Seraphimon, with a hint of sarcasm.

"My apologies sir," replied Holyangemon.

" Never mind that; do you know what we're up against?"

"Thus far I have counted two dozen Devidramon, minus the one I just eliminated. There were a couple of Darktyrannomon and a handful of Bakemon."

Seraphimon nodded to Holyangemon, but turned to the children before responding; "Are you alright?" he called to them.

The children were being helped up by their partners. They nodded weakly and brushed bits of broken glass off themselves. Hanae was sniffling and Labramon was licking her face trying to calm her down. Kioko had returned to her dazed state while Elecmon tried to get her to come to her senses. Seiichi, Ayame and Evan were muttering to each other. Ren had stood up by himself, ignoring Commandramon. Daichi ran up to Seraphimon, followed closely by Dracomon.

"What was that thing?" he asked.

"That was a Devidramon," replied Holyangemon, "they serve the Demon Lords as soldiers. I believe they have come here to stop our plan, or perhaps to target you children."

"That's a hell of a greeting. Anything we can do to help?"

"I do not believe that will be necessary, the castle guard should be able to handle an attack of this scale."

"You will all stay here with me until this is over," added Seraphimon, "Holyangemon please guard the door."

"Of course sir." Holyangemon then left through the main door, locking it behind him. Seraphimon then walked over to the other children with Daichi right behind him.

"You need not worry children; so long as you are with me, you shall be safe."

"Can Holyangemon handle all those enemies by himself?" asked Ayame.

"Again you needn't worry, the castle guard consists of several strong knights and they should be able to repel this attack. If anything comes into this room then Holyangemon or I shall handle it."

"Aside from the broken roof and the door, are there any other ways a monster could enter this room?" asked Hanae.

To answer Hanae's question, the wall behind the thrones shook. Seraphimon turned towards the wall and held both hands out in front of him. After several more blows a great black hand, tipped with crimson claws, punched through the wall, shattering the leftmost throne. The hand was soon followed by the rest of the creature; a great black monster with four glowing red eyes. It was the same type of creature that had fallen through the roof.

The creature clawed its way into the room and was followed by what appeared to be a pair ghosts. They didn't seem like much, resembling the type of ghost that one would see as a last minute Halloween costume, made from bed sheets. Seraphimon did not back down and instead drew a circle in the air with his hands. He called out 'Strike of the Seven Stars!' Seven glowing orbs appeared before him, swirling and looping around his hands. He thrust his hands forward, causing the orbs to fly at the intruders.

Three of the glowing orbs struck the Devidramon, and two struck each of the Bakemon. All three of the intruding Digimon were immediately destroyed. Seraphimon attempted to stand up after unleashing his attack, but staggered backwards. Evan and Ren ran forward and caught him on their shoulders, in order to keep him from falling over. They carried him over to the wall where he propped himself up.

"What's wrong?" asked Daichi who had followed after Evan and Ren.

"It seems that I'm not holding up as well as I thought I would be."

"Did that attack drain a lot of energy out of you?"

"It did, but normally it wouldn't be enough to cause such a reaction. It must have been something else.

"Now that you mention it, the stream of light that called me here came from you didn't it?" asked Dracomon.

"You may be on to something Dracomon. The first six of you were created from remnants of the data of the other Benevolent Masters. Dracomon was different though, as he was created directly from my data. Unfortunately, giving up that portion of data seems to have weakened me more than I thought."

"Are you going to be alright?" Asked Evan.

"I should be fine, if I have some time to recover. However, my life is less important than yours right now. I must make sure that you children are kept safe."

"That's no good mister Seraphimon," said Hanae walking up to him, "if you're hurt, then you should rest."

"I appreciate your concern, but it is misplaced. I shall be fine."

Just then the main doors burst open, coming free from their hinges. Holyangemon flew backwards into the room, landing on his back and sliding several feet. A figure appeared within the settling dust of the broken door.

"Sorry to disappoint, but you shall be anything but fine in short order."

When the dust settled the children were shocked to see the figure standing in the broken doorway. At first they thought they were looking at a double of Holyangemon. However; this figure's robes were pitch black, as were his wings. The cross on his helm was inverted, and he was carrying a massive, cruel looking scythe.

Holyangemon stood up and positioned himself in front of the children; "Why have you come here Fellangemon?"

"I would think that obvious," he replied curtly. "You and the last Benevolent Master were planning something against my lords. They kindly asked me to step in and put a stop to it."

"Leave now and you might make it back to your lords in one piece."

"You're hardly in the position to be making threats," said Fellangemon curtly. He glanced at Seraphimon, who was still propped against the wall and smirked. "I think I chose an excellent time to intrude, don't you agree?"

Holyangemon sneered at him with obvious disgust, "You're just a coward!"

Fellangemon ignored him and looked from Seraphimon to the children. "So your big plan to stop us is a bunch of kids and rookies?"

"Oh don't worry about them," said Holyangemon, drawing a sword from beneath his robes, "You'll meet your end at my hand." He then took the sword in both hands and charged Fellangemon.

"I don't think those kids are worth my time," retorted Fellangemon.

Fellangemon gave a wave of his hand, at which time three more Bakemon appeared. They snickered to each other and began to approach the children. Fellangemon then turned back to Holyangemon in time to parry his charge, catching the blade of his sword with his scythe.

"I hope that you may be able to provide me with some fun instead."

The three Bakemon snickered as the encroached on the children. The partner Digimon glared at the Bakemon, and then Dracomon stepped forward. The rest of the partner Digimon stepped forward from the children as well, forming a line between them and the encroaching Bakemon. The Bakemon's advance slowed, unsure of what they were up against.

"Come on guys, we can take them!" he called, gesturing for the others to follow his lead.

Dracomon roared 'Tiny Flame', spitting a small, blue-green fireball from his mouth at the Bakemon. Labramon followed with 'Sonic Bark', which unleashed a small shockwave through the air. Commandramon flipped the rocket launcher off his back and fired off a single round while calling out 'Mini Missile'. Lunamon emitted a beam from the crescent mark on her head and shouted 'Crescent Sparkle'. Coronamon thrust his hands forward, causing flames to shoot out of the amulets on his wrists while exclaiming 'Petit Prominence'. Elecmon's attack was "Thunder Strike" in which she shot a large lightning bolt from the base of her tail. Betamon spat out a stream of water that crackled; displaying an electric charge. The water muffled his calling out of 'Static Stream'.

All seven of the attacks struck the Bakemon simultaneously. The three of them let out a howl before completely disappearing. Fellangemon witnessed the destruction of the Bakemon and let out a sigh of annoyance. He then forced Holyangemon back with a powerful thrust. He turned to observe the other Digimon, whose amusement at defeating the Bakemon instantly faded.

"It seems like this isn't the kind of job for pitiful lackeys after all." As Fellangemon said this, he unleashed a wave of dark energy from his hand. The energy was aimed directly at Hanae.

What happened in the moments that followed seemed to take an eternity. Hanae screamed and covered her head, ducking down as low as she could while still on her feet. The partner Digimon turned and began to run towards her, but they weren't fast enough. Ren and Evan jumped in front of Hanae, but they were pushed aside by Seraphimon. As a result, he was struck in the back by the attack in its entirety. When the dark energy fizzled out, Seraphimon fell to his knees, his body shuddering visibly. Two of his golden wings fell to the ground and disintegrated.

Holyangemon became enraged and charged Fellangemon again, yelling loudly. Fellangemon sneered at him wickedly, amused at his foes anger. The two started grappling once more as the children gathered around Seraphimon. Hanae was crying, and had to be taken aside by Ayame. The Digimon joined their respective partners shortly after, although Commandramon was still being scorned by Ren.

"Is he going to be alright?" asked Ayame, who had left Hanae with Labramon.

"He seems pretty bad," replied Seiichi. "Although, I'm honestly not sure how badly hurt he is, since I don't know much about Digimon."

"He was already weakened as it is," added Daichi. "Who knows what taking an attack like that would do to him."

"Unfortunately, your thoughts on this matter are quite right," said Seraphimon gruffly. "That attack was more than I could handle at this point."

"Is there any way we can help?" asked Evan.

"I'm afraid that there is nothing you can do for me. That attack was the straw the breaks the camel's back, as they say. I am inevitably going to perish this day."

"Well this turned out better than I originally expected," interjected Fellangemon, who was still struggling with an infuriated Holyangemon. "My lords will be very pleased to know that they shall soon be freed from their imprisonment. I'll be sure to tell them right after I finish the rest of you off."

"I am afraid that your lords will get no such pleasure from my death Fellangemon," said Seraphimon, struggling to his feet. Another of his wings fell off as he got up. "I shall use what power I have left to give the children the time they need."

The children looked on in shock as Seraphimon floated into the air. They had no idea whatsoever as to what he was planning. His body began to glow with a brilliant white light. The light started as just an aura surrounding him, but eventually enveloped his body completely. His entire body seemed as thought it was made of light.

"What's going on?" shouted Kioko to the others.

"I am going to use the last of my strength to place a final seal on the place where the Demon Lords are imprisoned. I hadn't told you about it yet, but it is called the Dark Area. I only hope that this barrier will buy you the time you need."

"What are we supposed to do?" demanded Ren.

"I'm afraid that there is little more I can do to help you," echoed Seraphimon's voice. "Seek out the Keeper of Prophecies; he will be able to tell you what you must do."

With those last words the light that had engulfed Seraphimon erupted through the hole in the ceiling. The light shot across the sky into the distance. When the column of light faded, Seraphimon was gone. The children stared in disbelief at where Seraphimon had once been standing. In the background, the dull clangs of the fight between the two angel Digimon could be heard.

**Revision Notes: **No majors changes to this chapter; just some descriptive padding to round out the length. Then there's the usually grammar corrections (the first version didn't seem to like using commas to separate long trains of thought). There probably won't be too many major changes from now on, as the introduction was the only thing that really seemed out of place. I will keep you posted on any major changes that do occur.


	5. Out of the Frying Pan

Chapter 4: Out of the Frying Pan…

Save for the clash of the angel's weapons, the room had fallen silent. The children stared on in shock, still not able to believe what had just happened. Everything had seemed to happen so fast. One moment they had been learning about the Digital World form Seraphimon, and the next he was gone. Hanae was the first to break the silence. Her tears sobs seemed to snap the others out of their daze. Once again Ayame attempted to comfort her.

"It'll be alright," she said, "He gave himself up to stop the bad guys."

"B-b-but," managed Hanae between sobs, "he got hurt trying to save me. He asked us all to come here to help him, but instead he just ended up getting hurt."

"He allowed himself to get hurt so that we would still be able to help," added Evan. "We're still going to do what he asked us to, okay?"

Hanae continued to sniffle; "You promise?"

"Of course; we'll make sure to do him proud."

"Don't forget that he's still with us in a way," piped in Dracomon. "I was made from some of his data, remember?"

"Hey that's right," exclaimed Daichi. "If you have his data, then maybe we can make a copy of him or something. If this is just the inside of a computer, then copying data should be possible."

"Yeah we'll figure out something like that," said Evan. "No more tears from now on, okay?"

Hanae dried her eyes, "Okay." She then picked up Labramon and hugged him.

"WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE!?" exclaimed Holyangemon from across the room. The children all looked at him in surprise. "You children need to get out of here while I hold off Fellangemon."

"But where are we supposed to go?" called out Seiichi.

"Yeah where do we find this prophecy guy?" asked Ayame, also shouting.

"I'm afraid I do not know; only the Benevolent Masters and a few others ever knew his whereabouts."

"Then how are we supposed to find him?"

"If you are truly meant to find him, then you shall, regardless of the obstacles. Either way though, you need to leave here right now."

"Where do we go now then?" called Hanae.

"Out the back of this room there is a cliff side that can lead you down into the forest. That will do for now. Once I deal with Fellangemon I shall come find you."

Fellangemon chuckled at this remark; "You'll deal with me eh? I'd like to see that."

"You heard him guys; let's go," called Daichi to the others.

The others quickly got up and gathered around Daichi. They stepped cautiously around the rubble from the collapsed wall and glass from the ceiling. The partner Digimon followed after them, facing the inside of the room. They wanted to make sure that any stray attacks from the fight didn't hit the children.

When they reached the hole in the wall, the Digimon turned away from the fight and helped their respective partners climb through. Ren was again the exception, paying no heed to Commandramon. Once they were on the other side of the hole, they looked at their surroundings. They immediately noticed that they were fairly high up. Looking outwards, there were large stretches of forest spanning out before them.

Daichi approached the edge of the cliff and looked down. It looked to be about fifty feet from the top of this mound to the ground below. Unfortunately, the face of the cliff was sheer, and there didn't seem to be a path on this side. If there was a path down from this cliff, it wasn't here.

"Does anyone have any ideas on how to get down from here?" he asked.

"I don't think he would send us out here just to fall," replied Ayame, "so there's probably a path somewhere."

"I think we should get away from this room," added Evan. "We'd probably rather avoid getting caught between those two."

"Hey! The forest seems a little closer up over there," said Kioko, pointing to the corner of the throne room.

"Yeah, she's right," said Daichi, looking in the direction Kioko pointed. "Maybe the path is along one of the other walls." He ran over to the corner that she had indicated. "C'mon guys hurry up."

The rest of the group followed closely behind Daichi. The group ceased their movements at the sound of a dull thud. Shortly after the thud, the ground shook, causing Kioko and Hanae to fall over. After the quaking subsided, they were helped to their feet by Elecmon and Labramon.

"I think we need to hurry up," called Seiichi, "I think this place is becoming unstable."

As the children rounded a corner, they encountered a pair of Bakemon. The Bakemon grinned wickedly, and began to approach the children. Dracomon snarled at them while Commandramon reached for his rocket launcher. These small gestures were enough to send the Bakemon away shrieking. Dracomon and Commandramon snickered as Daichi ran up to them.

"Yeah you show 'em guys," he said, cuffing Dracomon on the back.

Before Dracomon had a chance to reply, the ground shook again. It shook twice more before the source of the tremors became evident. Coming around the side of the wall was another great black monster. This one looked like a giant dinosaur with green spines on his back. It had long, powerful looking arms that were each tipped with a pair of massive claws.

"W-what is that thing?" exclaimed Kioko.

"That must a Darktyrannomon," yelled Coronamon

"How do you know that?" inquired Seiichi.

"Well; Holyangemon said there were Devidramon, Bakemon and Darktyrannomon here. Since we've already seen the Devidramon and Bakemon, that one must be the Darktyrannomon."

"I hate to interrupt you guys, but this isn't the best time to be discussing what it's called!" yelled Daichi.

"Ah sorry, you're right."

"Heh, don't worry about it; we can take him."

The partner Digimon ran out in front of the children, once again forming a line between them and the opponent. Darktyrannomon looked down at them and let out a bellowing roar. The Digimon called out their attacks all at the same time; 'Tiny Flame; 'Sonic Bark'; 'Crescent Sparkle'; 'Mini-Missile'; 'Petit Prominence'; 'Thunder Strike'; 'Static Stream'. The attacks struck Darktyrannomon together and pushed him back several feet. However he didn't appear to have a scratch on him. He snarled at them and belched out a massive stream of fire. The fire engulfed the partners and threw them backwards with incredible force.

"What's wrong guys?" asked Daichi, "How come he didn't get trashed like those ghost things?"

"Our attacks didn't work," replied Dracomon, standing up.

"He's a lot stronger than those stupid Bakemon," added Coronamon.

"C'mon you can't give up just like that!" said Daichi, "If you can't beat some measly dinosaur, how are you supposed to take on those Demon Lord guys?"

"He's right" said Dracomon, "I'm not gonna get clobbered by some jurassic jerk."

"Yeah me neither," called out Betamon.

The other Digimon called out similarly, before forming their line once again. Before they had the opportunity to attack again, Darktyrannomon swung one of his massive arms at them. Dracomon managed to jump over its claws, but the others weren't so lucky. They were all flung back again, landing near the children.

Dracomon once again called out 'Tiny Flame', spitting another fireball at Darktyrannomon. The flame struck the dinosaur's face and caused him to wince. He quickly recovered and let out another roar. He spat out another stream of fire, but this time Dracomon managed to hold his ground. Darktyrannomon ceased belching flames, causing Dracomon to give him a smug look.

"Sorry, but you should know that fire won't hurt a dragon," he taunted.

"Yeah you tell him!" exclaimed Daichi.

Dracomon let out several more 'Tiny Flames', but all they seemed to be doing was annoying Darktyrannomon. He roared again and thrust his arms at Dracomon. He sidestepped the first claw, but was struck by the second, which sent him flying right into Daichi. Daichi was knocked over by the impact, and grunted wearily.

"Sorry buddy, but it looks like he's too strong for me."

"That's no way to talk. You can beat this guy; you just have to keep trying!"

"How am I supposed to beat him if my attacks aren't doing any damage?"

"I guess we'll just have to figure out another way to beat this guy."

"You're right; I have to protect you and everyone else. I'll figure out some way to deal with this overgrown newt."

"Go get him!" exclaimed Daichi.

Dracomon ran out in front of Darktyrannomon once more. Just then, the screen on Daichi's Digivice began to flash. He pulled it out to see what was happening, but looked back to Dracomon as he was enveloped by a warm, glowing light.

'DRACOMON EVOLUTION!' he called out. The silhouette of Dracomon grew larger and larger. When the light faded he roared and shouted; 'COREDRAMON!' Coredramon was just as big as Darktyrannomon, and looked much fiercer. He had bright blue scales, and had three long claws on each hand and foot. The horns on the back of his head had grown longer and another had sprouted at the tip of his snout.

Coredramon let out another roar, to which Darktyrannomon responded by roaring back at him. He was about to spit fire again, but Coredramon rushed him and slammed one of his hands into his jaw, knocking him backwards. Darktyrannomon grunted and was about to charge, but Coredramon rammed his head into the dinosaur's gut, knocking him back once again.

Flames began to lick around Coredramon's mouth. He called out 'Flare Blast', while spitting a massive stream of blue fire from his mouth. Darktyrannomon was still staggering from the earlier blow, and was unable to avoid the attack. He was engulfed by the flames and let out a painful howl. He keeled over and fell backwards, cracking the ground beneath him as he landed.

"Alright, you did it!" exclaimed Daichi, running up to Coredramon. "Good job buddy."

"Thanks," replied Coredramon, his voice deep and booming.

"That was a great trick by the way; how did you grow so big all of a sudden?"

"I'm not sure, I just felt a surge of energy and then it happened."

They were soon joined by the other children and their partners. They all stared up at Coredramon in amazement. Hanae looked a little intimidated, but Coredramon smiled at her, earning a smile from her in return. A weak grunt turned the attention of the group back to Darktyrannomon. The now scorched dinosaur was struggling to get back up.

"Looks like someone hasn't had enough yet," sneered Coredramon.

Before Coredramon could move in on him, Darktyrannomon thrust both of his claws into the ground. The cracks beneath him spread outwards, running straight under the group's feet. Shortly afterwards, the entire cliffside began to crumble. The children yelled out as the ground beneath them gave way. They shut their eyes as they began to fall…

* * *

Holyangemon had been struggling with Fellangemon for quite some time now, hoping to buy the children enough time to escape into the forest. He had assumed that the rumblings he had heard were the sounds of the castle collapsing, since the damage from the evil Digimon had been great. Unfortunately; he was distracted from his struggle when the sound of the children's screams reached his ears.

Holyangemon immediately looked to the hole in the wall, hoping to catch a glimpse of what had happened. Fellangemon took this opportunity, and rammed the blade of his scythe into the white angel's gut. Holyangemon grunted painfully as the blade was pulled out of him. He clutched at the wound momentarily before succumbing to it.

Holyangemon's sword fell to the floor as he fell to his knees; "This cannot be," was all he managed to say before he disappeared. The Digivice he had been carrying clattered to the floor.

"Thanks for the amusement, but it was starting to get a little boring," sneered Fellangemon.

Fellangemon slung his scythe over his back and kicked away Holyangemon's sword, which disappeared as well. He bent over and picked up the Digivice. He turned it over in his hand and smirked.

"Well; at least you left me a nice going away present." He pocketed the Digivice and flapped his great black wings. He flew off through the ceiling while chuckling malevolently.

**Revision Notes: **I extended Holyangemon's death scene a little, rather than him simply having been inexplicably bested by Fellangemon. Other than that, I just did some more descriptive padding and grammar corrections.


	6. No One Wants to Fight

Chapter 5: No One Wants to Fight

As the cliff crumbled, Coredramon threw himself towards Daichi. He managed to catch him in one of his claws. He flapped his wings and dove towards the other children. Large rocks from the broken cliff side pelted at him and he was unable to remain in flight. He turned himself over in midair and positioned himself beneath the falling children. He hit the ground forcefully and grunted loudly. The rest of the children landed roughly on top of him, followed by their Digimon. They then slid down his side to the ground.

Coredramon had landed some distance from the cliff side. He looked back at the cliff in time to see Darktyrannomon get crushed by the ensuing rockslide. He grunted loudly and was again enveloped by a glowing light. He shrank down and when the light faded, he had turned back into Dracomon. The children and their Digimon groaned sorely.

Daichi was the first to get up, since being caught by Coredramon had softened the impact for him. "Is everyone else alright?" he called to the others.

Evan was the first to respond; "That was a nasty spill we just took. If Coredramon hadn't broken our fall, it might have been much worse."

"You're welcome," said Dracomon, although he was now somewhat dazed.

Labramon walked up to Hanae, who was clutching a bruised knee. He lapped at it with his tongue, which caused her to giggle at the sensation. Commandramon tried to help Ren up but was forced aside as he stood up on his own. The others got up and gathered around Dracomon and Daichi.

"Thanks for beating up the bad dinosaur," said Hanae, smiling.

"Good on ya," added Betamon.

"Um, you guys really should be thanking Daichi," replied Dracomon. "If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have been able to win."

"As much as we would like to feel good about ourselves right now," interjected Seiichi, "this place is still dangerous and we need to get moving."

"Although my sores would like to object, my brother is right," added Ayame. "We should get into the forest like Holyangemon said."

"I'm sure we'll be able to find a nice clearing to rest in," piped in Lunamon. "We just have to bear it a little longer."

The group then proceeded to the tree line. The sounds of vibrant wildlife came from the forest. Cautiously, the children and their Digimon entered the forest on the edge nearest the cliff side. As they walked through the forest, they bore witness to a strange diversity of the plant life. One minute they walked past a cluster of evergreens, the next a pair of palm trees could be seen.

The group wasn't sure how long they spent traveling, but they eventually came across a break in the trees large enough for them to all fit into. They walked into the clearing and seated themselves. The children let out a collective sigh of relief. Their partners also showed signs of relief at a chance to rest.

After a bought of silence, Kioko spoke up; "This is totally not what I thought would happen when I went to the park."

"I don't think any of us expected this," replied Ayame. "I'm starting to wish I hadn't been so hasty in coming."

"But Holyangemon said he needed our help," cut in Hanae. "He said that this whole world needs us."

"Well; it seems we're stuck here for now, so we're gonna have to put up with it," stated Ren.

"If that's the case, then maybe introductions are an order," added Evan. "With everything that happened at Seraphimon's place we didn't have time to get to know each other."

"Alright I'll go first then," volunteered Daichi. "My name is Daichi Temaru. I'm a seventh grader and an avid video gamer."

Hanae went next; "I'm Hanae Tanaka. I'm in the fifth grade and I live with my mommy. I also love animals."

"My name is Seiichi Matsumoto and this is my sister Ayame," he said gesturing to her.

"Which one of you is older?" asked Daichi

"Actually we're twins," replied Ayame. "We're both in the eighth grade. Our family owns a dojo and we're both students there as well."

Evan came after the Matsumoto twins; "My name is Evan. In case you couldn't tell, I'm not from Japan. I came here; or there rather, for a surfing competition."

"You surf? That's awesome," commented Daichi.

"I always loved the ocean and it's a lot of fun." He then turned to Ren; "What about you?"

"I'm Ren Tsurugi." He didn't say anything else.

Kioko was the last to introduce herself; "I'm Kioko Hoshino. I'm as old as Daichi but I got skipped ahead. I'm currently applying for high school."

"Wow you must be really smart," said Hanae in amazement.

"No not really," replied Kioko, "I just study too much, that's all."

"I wished it worked like that for me," said Daichi. The other children laughed for their first time since coming to the Digital World. Daichi joined in as well and even Ren gave a smirk.

The children and their Digimon conversed for a while in the clearing, taking advantage of the time they had to rest. However; it wasn't very long before the children made a major realization: They were hungry! At least half a day had passed in the Digital world since their arrival, and they hadn't had anything to eat.

Evan and Daichi were the first to volunteer to search for food. Dracomon insisted that Daichi stay behind, since he was still worn out from his earlier fight. Evan decided to leave anyways, accompanied by Betamon. Shortly after Evan left, Ren stood up.

"I think I'll go look too," he said, "I need to give my legs a stretch."

"I'll come with you," said Commandramon.

"I'll be fine," said Ren sternly before departing. Commandramon looked worried and followed after Ren anyways.

As Ren walked away from the clearing, Commandramon followed him from a short distance. After a while Ren stopped walking. Without turning around he spoke to Commandramon;

"Why are you following me?"

"I wanted to come with you and make sure you were okay," he replied.

"I told you that I'd be fine."

"But we're partners; I'm supposed to look out for you."

"I never said I wanted you to be my partner."

"Why are you being so cold to me?"

Ren turned to Commandramon, fist clenched. He wanted to yell and shout, but couldn't. Instead he let out a sigh and sat on the ground. He ran his fingers through his disheveled hair as Commandramon approached. The Digimon sat next to him, setting aside his rocket launcher.

"Did I do something to make you mad?" asked Commandramon.

Ren hesitated for a moment before replying; "No you didn't." He sighed again and then continued, "It's my father that's the problem."

"Did you have a fight with him or something?"

"Sort of; my dad is in the military and so was my grandfather before him. He wanted me to join the military when I was old enough, so as to follow the family tradition."

"What's so bad about that?"

"The military is all about fighting, Commandramon. I don't like fighting. I don't like violence. Most of all, I don't like seeing people get hurt."

"Well if this father of yours cares about you, then wouldn't he understand that you don't want to do that?"

"I thought that at first, but now he's pressuring me to go to a private school funded by the military. As much as it may be a good school, I'm sure it's just another attempt at getting me to follow in his footsteps."

"I'm curious though; if it's your father that's the problem, why are you so upset with me?"

"That's my fault," he admitted. "Your weapons and armour make you look like a member of the military. I think I was just venting my anger towards my father at you. I should apologize for the way I've been acting."

"It's alright. I don't know much about fathers or the military, but I do know that I'm here to look out for you no matter what."

Before Ren had a chance to continue, their conversation was interrupted by a loud shriek. Commandramon quickly sprang to his feet and picked his rocket launcher up from the ground. Ren stood up afterwards and looked around. The two of them heard the shriek again, but this time it was much closer.

Shortly after the shriek, a large, ugly bird like creature ran out in front of Commandramon. Its plumage was a mixture of orange, red and silver. On the tips of its wings, and on its feet as well, were several dangerous looking talons.

Commandramon braced himself, and motioned for Ren to get back. He obliged, stepping several feet away from his partner. He stared at the bird briefly while it stared back at him. The bird let out another shriek and charged at him, running at a furious pace.

Commandramon called out 'Mini Missile', firing off a round from his launcher. The bird ducked under the rocket and continued charging. Before Commandramon could fire another round, it was on top of him. It rammed one of its wings into his chest, sending him and his rocket launcher flying.

The bird then turned and set its sights on Ren. He started to move slowly away from the bird Digimon, but shortly found his back to a tree. The bird let out yet another shriek and scratched its talons on the ground. Before it could attack, Commandramon appeared in front of it. He slashed at it with a small knife protruding from one of his gauntlets.

The knife connected, but didn't seem to have any effect. Instead, the bird kicked at Commandramon with its talons. He was thrown away again, landing rather roughly. He struggled to get up, clutching his chest where he had been kicked. Several tears were visible in his body armour.

"Ren…!" called out Commandramon, as the bird turned back towards his partner.

The bird charged at Ren, but before it could reach him it was dazed by a bright flashing light. Ren took the opportunity to jump out of the way, causing the bird to run headlong into the tree. Ren pulled out his Digivice, which turned out to be the source of the flashing light. He immediately recognized it as the same light that had appeared when Dracomon had evolved. He looked to Commandramon just in time to see the glow surround him.

'COMMANDRAMON EVOLUTION!' he called out. His growth was not as substantial as Coredramon's had been but when the light faded his appearance had changed substantially. SEALSDRAMON,' he finished. He was now as tall as an average human adult. His body was now entirely covered with dark green armour, strewn with a few red markings. His right eye was mechanical, and gave off a faint red glow.

By this time the bird had recovered, and was now staring down Sealsdramon. The lens in his mechanical eye flickered and whirred. Within the sight of that eye he could see where the bird was vulnerable. Its weakest point was at the joints of its wings, right where they connected to its body. Sealsdramon placed his hand on a handle sticking out from a sheath and watched the bird carefully.

The bird let out another shriek before lunging at Sealsdramon. He stood surprisingly still as the bird charged him. When the bird was almost on top of him, he flung himself downwards just in time to duck under the birds wing. 'Tactical Strike' he said. In a movement faster than the eye could follow Sealsdramon pulled out a combat knife and stabbed it into the bird's wing joint. The bird, unable to stop its charge, was helpless as the knife tore through its wing. The end result was that its wing was torn cleanly off.

After the bird passed, Sealsdramon stood up and sheathed his knife. The bird fell to the ground and thrashed about momentarily. When its movements had stopped, the bird seemed to dissolve into tiny particles that floated off into nothing. The glow enveloped Sealsdramon again, at which point he turned back into Commandramon.

Commandramon ran over to Ren; "Are you alright?" he asked.

"I think I'm okay, how about you?"

"Well that bird hit me pretty hard but when I evolved the wound went away."

"That's good; at least you're not hurt."

"By the way Ren, I don't really like to fight either."

Ren was surprised by this comment, especially given what he had just witnessed from Sealsdramon.

"I know I may be good at it, but that's only because I need to be. Sometimes you have to fight, in order to protect the things that are important." He then offered a claw to help Ren up.

Ren hesitated briefly, then smiled and took Commandramon's claw and stood up.

"Hey!" called a familiar voice. Ren looked over as Daichi and the rest of the group ran towards him.

"We heard a bunch of yelling and thought you might be in trouble," he said.

"Well we were in a bit of a spot, but Commandramon handled it."

The children looked a little confused at the change in Ren's attitude.

"Hey everyone!" called another voice.

The group turned and saw Evan and Betamon approaching them.

"We're in luck guys," he said, "Betamon and I found a lake nearby. We'll be able to get some water and hopefully catch some fish."

The group let out a collective cheer and, with Evan leading the way, started towards the lake he had mentioned.

**Authors Note: **In case anyone is wondering the 'bird' is Diatrymon.

Also I'm aware that I've taken some liberties in the names of attacks used by the Digimon (Primarily Commandramon and Sealsdramon presently but there are others). I only did this because I wanted to set my Digimon apart from previous versions in other Digimon Universes, since my story isn't connected to any of the preexisting Digital Worlds.

**Revision Notes: **Note much to note again this time, just some small changes to the action with a bit of descriptive enhancement. Some more grammar bugs have been exterminated, but that's about it. There probably won't be much more to the changes than that, unless I feel the need for a total overhaul.


	7. The Breaking of Betamon

Chapter 6: The Breaking of Betamon

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

The sun was closely approaching the horizon as the children emerged from the forest. Before them was a fairly large lake, clear and sparkling. Seeing the lake invigorated the children, causing them to run towards it. They took time to drink before seating themselves on the lake shore. Betamon was absent, as he had jumped into the lake and was still swimming.

"Well the drink was nice, but we still need some food," said Daichi.

"I didn't check for fish when I was here before," replied Evan. "I figured it would more important to bring the rest of you here first."

"Even if there were fish how would we catch them?" asked Seiichi. "We didn't really come prepared for roughing it in this kind of wilderness."

At this time, Betamon emerged from the lake. He approached the group and spat out three fish from his mouth.

Evan smiled at him, "Good job Betamon. Do you think you could get some more though? I don't think that'll be enough for all of us."

"Sure thing Evan," he replied and dove back into the lake.

"Well that problem is solved, but we can't eat them raw," commented Ayame.

"You forget who you've got with you," said Dracomon, carrying a hint of smugness in his tone.

"I didn't forget," remarked Daichi quickly. "A fire breathing Dragon is just what we need."

"Well; it looks like we've got a bit of work to do then."

The children then stood up and dispersed, save for Hanae, who stayed seated with Labramon. Dracomon, Daichi, Ren and Commandramon went to the edge of the forest to gather firewood. Ayame, Seiichi and their partners gathered up stones for a fire pit. Evan went to the lakeshore and collected the fish that Betamon caught. Kioko also went down to the lake, and proceeded to fill a couple of empty bottles with water.

When the children had finished their respective tasks, they gathered around Hanae again. Seiichi and Ayame set the stones they gathered in two small circles, after which Daichi and Ren filled them with kindling. Dracomon and Coronamon each lit one of the fires. Evan and Betamon dragged the fish they had caught up to the fire, numbering two dozen in all. Hanae and Kioko propped the fish up by the fire on sticks.

As the group waited for the fish to cook they began to converse again;

"Hey Daichi I have a question for you," said Ayame.

"Go ahead," he replied.

"How come you wear those goggles?"

"Oh these? They're sort of a good luck charm for me. I went to the arcade while I was wearing them once, after leaving the pool. On that day I beat the high scores on every game I played."

"Hey Daichi I have a question too," added Dracomon. "How come your eyes are two different colours?"

"They are?" said Ren, looking to Daichi, "I never noticed that." Sure enough one of Daichi's eyes was green, while the other one was blue.

"I think I was born like that, but it never really bothered me."

"I have a question for Hanae," cut in Evan. "If you love animals; how come you had those virtual pets as opposed to real ones."

"Oh; the apartment me and mommy live in doesn't allow live animals," she replied. "My mom is nice though, so she said I could have virtual ones instead."

After a bit more conversation the fish finished cooking. The children and their Digimon heartily dug in, save for Betamon. Apparently he had eaten some raw fish while he was still in the lake. Daichi was the first to finish eating, at which point he pulled out his Digivice and began fiddling with it.

"What exactly are you trying to do with that?" asked Kioko.

"I'm just messing around a bit," replied Daichi. "These things are a bit of a mystery, so I was hoping to find out how it works."

"Get anything yet?" asked Ren.

"Well I got the screen to turn on. There's some writing that I think is instructions, but I've never seen this language before."

Kioko then pulled out her Digivice. She managed to turn it on as well and then observed the writing. "It looks like some kind of pictograph, but it's not Kanji or Hieroglyphics."

Elecmon looked at the screen of Kioko's Digivice as well. "I think it's the language of the Digital World."

"Can you read it?"

"A little bit yes; it comes naturally. It says, from left to right: 'Stored Data', 'Scan' and… I can't make out the last one."

"Well let's give it a try." Kioko pressed the 'Stored Data' key, but the screen remained blank. She then pointed it at Elecmon and pressed the 'Scan' key. The Digivice's screen lit up and on it appeared an image of Elecmon. There were several bits of text next to the image.

Elecmon took another look at the image on screen; "Hey that's me; neat. The writing says: 'Rookie', 'Data' and 'Thunder Strike."

Daichi mimicked Kioko and scanned Dracomon. The writing next to his picture said 'Rookie', 'Data' and 'Tiny Flame'.

"Well the third bit of text seems to be the name of the attack they use, but the other two don't make much sense."

Daichi then tried pressing the 'Stored Data' key. When he did, an image of Coredramon appeared, listing him as 'Champion', 'Vaccine' and 'Flare Blast'. Pressing it again caused an image of Darktyrannomon to appear.

"I think I get it." said Kioko. "The scan button displays data on a Digimon we're presently facing, and the stored data button brings up information on Digimon we've seen in the past."

"Good," said Seiichi, "that means we won't be entirely unaware of what we're up against if we get into another fight."

By now the sun had passed the horizon and a few stars were visible in the sky. Hanae let out a yawn and lay down on the ground. Labramon lay down and curled up beside her. Hanae's yawning proved to be contagious, as the other children began to as well. The Digimon didn't yawn, but they still seemed quite fatigued.

"It looks like we're sleeping out under the stars tonight," said Ayame, stretching her arms briefly.

"Do you think it'll be safe?" asked Kioko.

"We should probably take turns keeping watch," suggested Seiichi. "Dracomon and Commandramon have already done their share of fighting today, so they deserve a break. That being the case, I'll take the first shift. Then, after three hours, Ayame can take over. Then, she'll stay on for the next three hours, after which Evan can finish up until morning."

Evan and Ayame nodded, after which the children and their partners lay down and went to sleep. Seiichi doused one of the fires and then sat up with Coronamon. He looked thoughtful for a moment, before turning to address his partner.

"So Coronamon," began Seiichi, "I don't really know that much about you."

"Well; I don't really know a lot about myself either," he replied.

"Why's that?"

"I was just born today, or I at least don't have any memories before this point. I don't really know anything aside from my duty to protect you."

"Really? Nothing at all?"

"Well; I had some innate knowledge like how to speak and read Digimon Language, but that's about it."

Seiichi and Coronamon continued their discussion throughout his watch. Aside from their speaking, the night was silent and uneventful. After the three hours passed Seiichi nudged Ayame awake. Lunamon awoke shortly afterwards. The two of them took up the watch while Seiichi and Coronamon went to sleep.

Their three hour watch was just as uneventful as Seiichi and Coronamon's. They passed the time by admiring the night sky. The stars looked very much the same as they did on Earth, but there were no familiar constellations. Ayame and Lunamon enjoyed coming up with new ones and naming them. After their shift ended, they woke up Evan and Betamon before going back to sleep.

By now the fire had died out and only the stars provided light. However; after about an hour and a half the sun began to peek over the horizon. It seemed as though the night was going to pass by completely without consequence. Evan walked down to the shore and dipped his feet in the water. Betamon walked up to him and slipped into the water.

"Nothing like an early dip, eh Betamon?"

"I love the water no matter what time it is," he replied

"So do I; always have. Swimming, surfing, you name it."

Before Betamon could reply, his gaze was drawn out across the lake.

"What's the matter?" asked Evan.

Evan looked in the same direction as his partner, and saw a small stream of bubbles moving towards them. Evan and Betamon jumped back onto the shore as the bubbles drew closer. All of a sudden, they stopped moving. After that a gigantic, white tentacle rose out of the water. It was tipped with 3 long, black claws. The tentacle crashed down towards Evan, who just barely managed to jump out of the way. It dragged across the shore back into the water.

"What was that?!"

In answer to his question, a great white creature rose out of the water. It resembled a squid, but two of its tentacles were longer than the others, both of which were tipped with black claws. It also had a great gaping mouth filled with fangs. Evan pointed his Digivice towards the creature and hit the scan button. The creature's likeness appeared on the screen. Next to it the name 'Gesomon' was written. The information given said 'Champion', 'Virus' and 'Coral Crusher'.

"Hey guys wake up," he called to the others, "We've got company."

The other children awoke with a start. They looked out at Gesomon in shock. Coronamon, Lunamon and Commandramon ran closer the water. They called out their attacks at the Gesomon; 'Petit Prominence', 'Crescent Sparkle' and 'Mini-Missile'. Before the attacks would connect, Gesomon dove back beneath the water. Two clawed tentacles shot out of the water, one striking Lunamon while the other one hit Commandramon. Both of them were thrown back forcibly. Ayame and Ren ran over to their partners to make sure they were alright. Evan and Seiichi turned and faced Gesomon.

"Alright then, it looks like we'll have to get him."

"Sorry Seiichi," said Coronamon, "I can't go into the water. If I did, it might put me out, and I don't think that would be a good thing."

"Well then, it looks like it's up to you Betamon," said Evan.

"Leave it to me," he said, before diving into the water.

Under the surface of the lake, Betamon swam towards Gesomon. The larger Digimon threw his clawed tentacles at Betamon, who easily ducked out of the way. He called out 'Static Stream', spitting a stream of electrically charged water at Gesomon. The attacks impacted on the squid, who let out a wail. He recovered quickly, and threw his tentacles at Betamon again. Slowed by the recoil of his own attack, he was unable to get out of the way in time. The impact threw Betamon out of the water where he landed next to Evan.

Evan bent down next to him; "Are you alright?"

Gesomon rose up out of the lake again and roared at the group. Betamon shot another 'Static Stream' at Gesomon but it had no effect.

"Be careful Betamon," called Evan.

"Don't worry about it; I'll get him next time."

The image of Gesomon faded from the screen of Evan's Digivice which then began to flash. Betamon was engulfed by light just as Dracomon and Commandramon had been. 'BETAMON EVOLUTION!' he called out and dove into the lake. Emerging from the water was a large green coloured serpent with red stripes. His head was yellow with two fins sticking out the back. 'SEADRAMON!' Evan scanned Seadramon with his Digivice. The resulting data given was 'Champion', 'Data', and 'Ice Blast'.

Even smiled and called to Seadramon; "Go get him!"

Gesomon threw his tentacles at Seadramon, who dove under the water to avoid them. He resurfaced right in front of Gesomon and raised himself up to his full length. He towered over Gesomon and let out a roar. Gesomon, intimidated, backed away from Seadramon.

Seadramon called out 'Ice Blast!' A stream of ice cold air poured from Seadramon's mouth and engulfed Gesomon. Gesomon wailed as he was coated with a thick layer of ice. The frozen Gesomon sank back into the lake. Seadramon swam close to the shore and looked down at the group. The children looked up at him in awe.

"Was I great or what?" he said, a smile appearing on his mouth.

"You did great Seadramon," called Coronamon. "Good job."

"Not only that," called Evan, "but I learned something new about the information shown on the Digivice."

"What did you find out?"

"When we scanned our partners before, the Digivice said 'Rookie' right?"

"Yeah, but we weren't sure what it meant," said Daichi

"Well; when I scanned Gesomon and Seadramon, they were both marked as 'Champion'. I think it's a measure of how strong they are."

"That's a good thing to know the," said Seiichi. "The ability to know your opponent's strength beforehand is always an advantage."

"So this is where you all went," came the voice of unwanted company.

The children looked up and, to their horror, saw Fellangemon descending towards them. He landed further down the lake shore and smirked at the children.

"Where's Holyangemon?" demanded Ayame.

"Oh him? He wasn't providing much in the way of a fight, so I put him out of his misery."

Seadramon let out a roar and called out 'Ice Blast', attacking Fellangemon. Fellangemon smirked and quickly drew his scythe. He twirled his scythe in front of him until it became blurred. Seadramon's attack was deflected by the spinning scythe. He let out a sigh of annoyance at the sea serpent;

"Pathetic."

Fellangemon then jumped up and plunged the blade of his scythe into Seadramon. Seadramon howled in pain as Fellangemon pulled his scythe out. Stuck to the tip of the scythe's blade was a strand of some glowing substance. Seadramon fell towards the group, starting to glow as he did. The glow faded, and Seadramon had turned back into Betamon. Betamon landed in the middle of the group, unconscious.

Fellangemon smirked again; "You fools aren't worth my time. My masters may be interested in this trinket though." He held up his hand, indicating the glowing strand. He then chuckled and flew off once again.

Evan picked up the unconscious Betamon and gently nudged him. Betamon twitched briefly before becoming motionless.

"Betamon…" called Evan, "Betamon!"

**Revision Notes: **For some reason this chapter had a lot of paragraphing problems. Fortunately they have now been fixed, which will hopefully make the chapter run smoother. Other than that, no major changes were made. Thanks for continuing to read the revised edition.


	8. By a Thread

Chapter 7: By a Thread

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

Hanae had somehow managed to sleep through the commotion cause by Gesomon. She was woken up by Evan's shouting, and opened her eyes in time to see Fellangemon flying off. She looked at the other children to see them gathered around Evan. He was carrying an unconscious Betamon in his arms. She walked over to the others, concerned that something bad had happened;

"What happened to Betamon?" she asked.

"He was attacked by Fellangemon," replied Ren.

Hanae looked horrified at this news; "Is he going to be alright?"

"We're not sure; Fellangemon was a lot stronger than even his evolved form," said Daichi. "He doesn't look very good right now."

"We need to find him some help, fast!" exclaimed Evan. He threw on his sandals and ran blindly into the forest.

"Hey, wait up," called Seiichi. "We don't know our way around here!"

"His partner is severely injured," stated Coronamon firmly. "You shouldn't expect him to be able to act rationally right now."

"I don't see how panicking like this is going to do him any good."

"Well then we'd better follow after him. With Betamon injured, he doesn't have anyone to protect him. There could be other nasty Digimon out there waiting for this kind of opportunity."

Ayame and Ren looked unsure; Lunamon and Commandramon were still recuperating after taking hits from Gesomon. Kioko was in shock over how easily Seadramon had been defeated, while Elecmon was trying to snap her out of it. Labramon looked to Hanae, who nodded and stepped forward.

"I'll go help him," she offered determinedly.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea," said Daichi. "You're the youngest one here and you could get hurt. I'll go instead."

Hanae shook her head, "You and Ren have already done plenty of fighting. I got more sleep than anyone else, so I'll be okay."

Before anyone else could state their objections, Hanae ran off after Evan, followed closely by Labramon. The other children hurriedly gathered up their things, including Evan's bag, in order to catch up with the other two. Due to the delay in their departures, the rest of the group wasn't sure of the exact direction Evan and Hanae had run off in. As such, they took their best guess, and ran into the forest.

* * *

Evan had run blindly into the forest without any consideration to where he was going. After a while he stopped running and looked around. It hadn't dawned on him while he had been in a panic, but he had no idea where he was going. He looked down at Betamon who had begun to shudder. He cursed loudly at his own lack of sense. He had probably gotten himself lost, and he was no closer to finding help for Betamon.

"You should watch your language," came Hanae's voice.

Evan turned around to see Hanae approaching him with Labramon at her heels.

"You're right," he said with a sigh, "but I'm really worried about Betamon."

"Well; running off on your own won't help, especially if you don't know where you're going."

"I should have known better, but I panicked. Now we're probably lost."

"Umm…" Hanae looked around, having forgotten which direction she came from, "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention either. I was just trying to make sure you were okay. The others would have followed behind me though, so they should be here soon."

"Yeah but still, Betamon is fading fast and I don't know where we can find help for him."

"IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE WHO CAN HELP US!" yelled Hanae.

Evan looked at her with a puzzled expression; "What was that for?"

"Well; usually when you need help you call for someone right?"

Labramon followed Hanae's example and barked loudly. He barked a few more times until they heard some rustling nearby. Their calls for help had merited a voice calling back to them;

"Is there someone else out there?"

Hanae looked in the direction the voice came from. From that direction a person stumbled towards them. He was dressed up like a street magician, and was propping himself up on a staff tipped with an ornament shaped like the sun. A dark blue cloak hung around his shoulders, the inside of which was covered in markings similar to the type they had seen on Seraphimon's armour. Before this person could speak, he was struck in the back by a ball of fire, which threw him past Evan and Hanae.

Following the fireball, another figure emerged from the thick of the forest. This figure looked like a man, but his entire body was wreathed with fire. Hanae pulled out her Digivice and mimicked what she had seen the others do. The Digivice read 'Meramon', 'Champion', 'Data', and 'Magma Blast'. Meramon looked sternly at the fallen Digimon;

"These lands were entrusted to me by Lord Barbamon," he said. "All those who dare to trespass here shall suffer my wrath. I gave you fair warning when you first came here, but you did not heed my words."

Hanae stepped between Meramon and the fallen Digimon, while Evan went up to him to see if he was alright. "That's not very nice," she said.

Meramon looked to Hanae; "You dare to defy me as well?"

"I don't know who this Barbamon is, but that doesn't make it okay for you to hurt that other Digimon."

"If you seek to interfere, then you shall suffer the same fate as him."

Meramon then proceeded to conjure a fireball, which he then threw at Hanae. Labramon jumped in front of Hanae and called 'Sonic Bark'. The shockwave generated by the attack cause Meramon's fireball to disperse. Meramon glowered at Labramon, who growled in response.

"You will not hurt Hanae," snarled Labramon.

Meramon chuckled, "What, pray tell, is a little runt like you going to do about it?"

"You shouldn't pick on people who are smaller than you," said Hanae sternly. "Just because he's small doesn't mean he can't teach you a lesson!"

Hanae's Digivice began to flash and Labramon was surrounded by a bright glow. 'LABRAMON EVOLUTION!' he yelled. The glow surrounding him grew until it was bigger than Hanae. The light faded and the evolved Labramon let out a howl; 'DOBERMON!' Dobermon resembled a massive black dog with a brown snout and paws. He had sharp claws on his paws and an angled spike jutting out of the back of each leg. Around his neck was a large, spiked collar.

Meramon stepped back from Dobermon, shocked at the sight; "What the… How did you evolve so quickly?"

"Beats me, but I'm not complaining," replied Dobermon.

"It matters not; these lands belong to the Demon Lords. You dared to defy me and so you shall perish first."

Meramon conjured another fireball, called out 'Magma Blast', and threw it as Dobermon. The great black dog let out a loud bark, once again causing Meramon's fire to disperse. Meramon grimaced and ran at Dobermon, wreathing his fist in flames. He threw his fist at the dog, but he quickly ducked under the blow. He charged at Meramon and slammed into his chest. The fire Digimon was thrown backwards, and his fist was extinguished.

Dobermon leapt at Meramon with his claws bared. He called out 'Panzer Claw', which caused his claws to take on a slight sheen. He dug his claws into Meramon's chest and slashed downwards fiercely. Meramon yelled loudly and fell backwards, clutching his chest. When he removed his hand, a set of deep claw marks could be seen.

"You shall rue this day," he said, pulling himself to his feet. He then limped away into the forest, panting heavily.

Dobermon snarled at him and then degenerated back into Labramon. Hanae ran over to him and picked him up. She hugged him tightly and patted his head. She then walked over to Evan and the Digimon who had been attack by Meramon. Evan had propped him up against a tree, but he still seemed to be unconscious.

"Is he alright?" she asked.

At her words, the Digimon opened his eyes. The rest of his face was covered by his cloak. He placed a hand on his head and winced;

"I shall be alright momentarily."

"That's good," said Evan. "So; who are you?"

"My name is Wizardmon," replied the Digimon, "I was traveling to the palace of Seraphimon."

"Unfortunately both Seraphimon and his palace have fallen. That aside; why were you heading there?"

"I was sent by my master to seek out the Children of Virtue."

"Um, do you think he's talking about us?" asked Hanae.

Wizardmon sat bolt upright and focused his eyes on the children. "Could it be that you are the children I seek?"

"Um, I think so; we seem to be the only humans here."

"Then you must be the ones I seek. I knew that Seraphimon had fallen when I saw the streak across the sky. I feared it to be a sign that you had been lost."

"We've managed to hold on alright," said Evan. He then held out the still form of Betamon. "Unfortunately my partner suffered a serious injury in the last fight. I don't know anything about Digimon, but perhaps you can help him."

"Lay him down," said Wizardmon, "I shall do what I can for him."

Evan nodded and set Betamon down in front of Wizardmon. The wizard Digimon stood up and held his hands out over Betamon. He made several shapes with his fingers, causing a green light to appear around them. The light flowed over Betamon covering his entire body. As the light covered him, he began to stir. When the light faded, he opened his eyes and coughed.

"Hiya Evan" he said weakly, "what did I miss?"

Tears welled in Evans eyes as he picked Betamon back up. "Thank goodness you're alright."

"That spell should have healed his injuries," stated Wizardmon. "However; he seemed to be missing something."

"I feel fine," said Betamon, jumping down from Evan's arms. "Just a little tired, that's all."

"That's good, but where are the rest of the children?"

"Well; we got separated from them," replied Hanae. "Evan ran off to look for help for Betamon and I followed him."

"Hurry and take me to the other children," said Wizardmon.

"No need," called out Daichi, "we're already here." The five children and their partners walked up to the others. "Who's this?"

"Pleased to meet you all, my name is Wizardmon."

"He's a nice Digimon who made Betamon better."

"Well it's good to finally meet someone not trying to attack us," said Seiichi. "Thank you for helping our friend."

"It was no trouble," replied Wizardmon, "but now I must speak with all of you. Do you possess the Digivices?"

The children pulled out their Digivices and presented them to Wizardmon. The wizard nodded, and gave a single wave of his staff. The screens on the Digivices lit up briefly, and then faded again. He smiled and lowered his staff before addressing the children again.

"Excellent, you are indeed the Children of Virtue that I seek."

"Who are you though?" asked Kioko.

"Ah forgive me. I am a servant of the Keeper of Prophecies; Shakkoumon."

"Hey, he's the one that Seraphimon told us to look for right?" proposed Ayame.

"Yeah he is. What a lucky coincidence," said Ren.

"There are no coincidences; I was destined to meet you. Now; since Seraphimon is no longer with us, time is very short. I must take you to meet Shakkoumon."

"I have a question first," said Daichi, "How did you know about us?"

"Shakkoumon has the ability to see beyond that which is apparent to the eye. He can see into past and future. He made the prophecy about the coming of humans to the Digital World. When Holyangemon left to retrieve you, Shakkoumon already knew that something devious was taking place. He sent me knowing that you would need a guide, and asked me to bring you before him."

"Well then what are we waiting for? Let's go meet the Prophecy Keeper!"

"I appreciate your desire for haste, and the sooner we depart the better. It will take several days to reach Shakkoumon's home."

The other children nodded their agreement. Wizardmon began walking in the direction that he had first come from. The children followed behind him, along with their Digimon partners. Their minds were abuzz with curiosity about their new guide and his master. If this Shakkoumon had the clairvoyant abilities Wizardmon had mentioned, what would he reveal to them? They were all eager to find out, and progressed as quickly as they could.

**Revision Notes: **If anyone notices a difference in the way Wizardmon is speaking, then don't panic. For this story, Wizardmon is supposed to be a very 'proper' Digimon. As such, in this revised edition his speech shall be formalized to a certain extent, but hopefully not so much that it's hard to tell what he's saying. I also found that this chapter had the paragraphing problem, so I fixed that as well.


	9. A Bug in the Plan

Chapter 8: A Bug in the Plan

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

Two days had passed since the children had met up with Wizardmon. During their travels through the forest, Wizardmon had been teaching the children a few things about the Digital World. Since the Digital World was created from an amalgamation of data, the appearance of things that seemed out of place to humans was common. Such things included bizarre vegetation, warped physical laws, or the occasional appearance of a piece of electric equipment. During their travels, the group had thus far seen an upside down trees and an oddly placed refrigerator.

Wizardmon also taught the children about the Digimon themselves. Digimon were divided into three types; Data, Virus and Vaccine, based on the type of data that they were spawned from. The forms that they took originated from creatures of the human world, both real and mythical. They varied greatly in strength and size, as the children had already witnessed. When a Digimon died, its data would be reformatted as a newborn Digimon. Occasionally a strong willed Digimon would be able to absorb the data of a defeated opponent, in a process they called loading.

According to Wizardmon, they were approaching the edge of the vast Forest Area. At the very edge of the forest was a range of mountains. A tunnel through these mountains would take them to the Desert Area, wherein Shakkoumon resided. However; they would still have to travel a few days in the desert. This was because Shakkoumon's home was deep inside its boundaries.

"If we continue traveling at our current pace, we should be able to reach Shakkoumon's home in three days," said Wizardmon.

Daichi posed a question; "What do you think Shakkoumon is going to tell us?"

"Well; seeing as how our mission here is to defeat the Demon Lords," replied Seiichi, "he will probably tell us how we are to go about doing it."

"Shakkoumon will tell you exactly what you need to know and nothing more."

Ayame and Daichi looked at each other, rolling their eyes. The two snickered but quieted themselves after a stern look from Wizardmon.

"I wonder what's going on back home," pondered Hanae.

"If what I know of your world is correct, the time that has passed there is unlikely to be of consequence."

"Still; it's hard to believe that the three days we've been here haven't also gone by at home."

"Don't worry," said Kioko, "this just means that no one at home is going to be worrying about us while we're gone."

"I guess, but it still feels weird."

"I agree that it's weird, but it's also very interesting. Before coming here I would have never thought that there was a whole other world aside from our own."

"There are many Digimon who do not know of the existence of the Human World either," added Wizardmon. "I myself did not know of your world until Shakkoumon told me when I was sent to retrieve you."

"So; did you not believe in humans either?" asked Hanae.

The wizard Digimon chuckled; "No; I thought you were just a myth. You will find in your travels that many Digimon have a similar predisposition."

"What about you Elecmon; did you think humans were mythical creatures too?"

"I was born right in front of you, remember?" replied Elecmon. "I knew about humans from the beginning."

"Hey; can anyone else hear that noise?" asked Ayame suddenly.

"What noise?"

"I'm not sure, but it sounds like it's getting closer."

The children and Digimon stopped and listened for the sound Ayame spoke of. Sure enough they could make out a dull buzzing noise, which was gradually getting louder. The group looked around, but could not find the source. Even so, the buzzing continued to get louder.

The noise seemed to die for a moment, but it resumed as a giant bug zoomed over top of the group. The children ducked their heads as the insect made another pass and hovered in front of them. The bug resembled a gigantic hornet with red wings and a dangerous looking stinger on its abdomen.

"What is that thing?" asked Kioko.

"Oh; that is a Flymon," replied Wizardmon. "They are not a normally aggressive species, but they are fairly territorial. I imagine we just walked through its home and piqued its curiosity."

Flymon hovered back and forth in front of them, observing them. It seemed as though it was about to fly away when it let out a screech. It aimed its stinger at Wizardmon and launched it like a projectile. Another stinger immediately appeared in its place. With a whirl of his cloak, Wizardmon deflected the stinger and glared at the Flymon. The children readied themselves, expecting a fight but Wizardmon held a hand out to stop them.

"You need not waste your efforts," he said, "I'll handle this."

Wizardmon held out his staff and declared 'Magical Game!' A blue bolt of lightning shot out from the staff. The attack grazed Flymon, who let out another screech. For an instant, the insect's wings seemed to stop moving. During that instant a yellow spot on its wings lit up. When its wings started moving again, they emitted a continuous, high pitched noise. The children covered their ears and Labramon, who was especially sensitive to sound, lost consciousness.

Hanae bent down to check Labramon and was relieved to find he wasn't hurt. Wizardmon seemed to be unaffected by the sound and readied his staff again. Before he could let off his attack, he was struck by a pair of large, orange pincers. The blow knocked Wizardmon on his back as the one who delivered it emerged from the trees. It looked like a massive orange stag beetle.

Daichi scanned the new insect with his Digivice, yielding the results: 'Kuwagamon', 'Champion', 'Virus', and 'Scissors Claw'. Daichi looked to Ren, who simply nodded in response. The two held out their Digivices, which began to flash, at their partners. Dracomon and Commandramon were enveloped by the light of evolution and became Coredramon and Sealsdramon once more.

Kuwagamon was about to step on Wizardmon when Coredramon slammed into him, knocking him aside. The two then began to grapple as Ren and Daichi picked Wizardmon up on their shoulders. Coredramon rammed his horns into the beetle's chest, breaking the stalemate between them. He then lowered his head and charged his opponent, knocking him away from the others.

Wizardmon watched the ensuing struggled and muttered; "So this is the power of the Children of Virtue. It is quite impressive."

While Coredramon fought with Kuwagamon, Sealsdramon confronted Flymon. The insect shot several stingers at Sealsdramon, who dove into a back flip to avoid them. He then trained his mechanical eye on Flymon, targeting his wings. He unsheathed his knife and called 'Tactical Strike'. He threw his knife at Flymon, catching its wings right on the glowing spot. The force of the throw forced Flymon back into a tree, pinned by the knife.

Sealsdramon approached Flymon, pulling out another knife. Just when he reached Flymon, he caught movement in the corner of his eye. He jumped backwards just in time to avoid a streak of pink light shaped like a blade. Following the blade, another giant bug zoomed past them. This one looked like a praying mantis, with a massive sickle blade on each arm.

Sealsdramon landed back near Ren. "Where do these things keep coming from?" he asked rhetorically.

Ren had scanned the praying mantis as it passed by. The information listed was 'Snimon', 'Champion', 'Vaccine' and 'Twin Sickles'. Ren looked up from his Digivice as Snimon charged him, baring the sickles on its arms. Sealsdramon stepped forward and caught one of the sickles with his knife, the other one cutting into his side. He grunted but did not let Snimon get any closer to Ren.

The other children looked on as their friends fought with the giant insects. When Flymon's noise had stopped, Labramon had regained consciousness. He looked to Hanae, who nodded and held out her Digivice. Before it could activate, a stream of purple cobwebs appeared seemingly out of nowhere. The webs ensnared both Hanae and Labramon. Betamon, Ayame and Seiichi were all caught in the web as well.

The strands of the web tightened as the creature that created them crawled towards the children. It was a huge black spider with a skull and crossbones mark on its back. Hanae screamed as the spider drew closer. Coronamon ran towards the spider and called 'Petit Prominence'. Small streams of fire shot from the amulets on his wrist, burning up part of the web. Lunamon attacked the spider with her 'Crescent Sparkle'. The spider seemed unfazed by the attacks and continued crawling towards the children.

Ayame was closest to the spider and, with a free hand, pulled out her Digivice. She scanned the spider, revealing it to be 'Dokugumon', 'Champion', and 'Virus' with 'Poison Thread' as its attack. As Dokugumon drew closer to Ayame, she struggled against the web, hoping to break herself free.

"Don't struggle," called Seiichi, "you'll only make it worse."

"Do you have a better idea?" she asked in response.

Just then, both Ayame and Seiichi's Digivices began to flash. Coronamon and Lunamon were simultaneously covered in the evolutionary light. 'CORONAMON EVOLUTION' and 'LUNAMON EVOLUTION' were called out together, as were the resulting 'FIRAMON' and 'LEKISMON'.

Firamon was a lion with red fur and a bright yellow mane. He had amulets similar to those worn by Coronamon around all four legs and a pair of red, feathered wings on his back. Lekismon was a tall rabbit with light pink fur, save for a few blue patches. She was wearing a pair of black gloves with a crescent moon mark on them and had a metal plate over her face.

Firamon leapt at the spider, tackling it off the web. The heat from his body dissolved parts of the web and allowed the children to break free. The blow from Firamon had knocked the spider onto its back, where it struggled to right itself. Firamon stepped back from the spider and roared. He called out 'Fira Bomb', ejecting a massive fireball from the amulet on his forehead. The fireball consumed the spider, which let out a shriek of pain before being destroyed.

While Firamon was attacking the spider, Lekismon had run over to where Sealsdramon was struggling with Snimon. His armour bore several slash marks and he was wincing in pain. When he saw Lekismon running towards him he gave a mighty heave, forcing Snimon backwards. With the opening created, Lekismon ran up to Snimon and delivered a powerful kick to its side.

Snimon was thrown aside by the impact, but Lekismon ran out before him and raised a gloved hand. She declared 'Midnight Bomber' and the crescent mark on her glove lit up. When Snimon was close enough she slammed her fist into its head. Snimon was thrown to the ground twitching. After a moment the twitching stopped, and Snimon was deleted.

Sealsdramon walked over to Flymon, who was still pinned to the tree. He rammed his knife into its head, meriting a brief screech and the deletion of the insect. From a short distance away the others heard Coredramon roar 'Flare Blast', indicating the end of Kuwagamon. After the bugs were all destroyed, Coredramon, Firamon, Lekismon and Sealsdramon degenerated to their respective rookie forms.

The children and their Digimon gathered together in a group along with Wizardmon. "This is bizarre," he said, "insect Digimon do not normally act in such a fashion."

"What do you think it means?" asked Kioko.

"I think it means that the Demon Lords had a hand in this. If I am right, then it means they are actively seeking to eliminate you. Either way, we must hurry."

With that, Wizardmon continued leading the children out of the forest.

* * *

The seven figures had once again gathered in the eerie twilight. They seemed to be conversing, while awaiting the return of Fellangemon.

"So; Arukenimon failed to eliminate the children as well," came the voice of the group's female member.

"I was told by my vassal Meramon, who survived an encounter with them, that they have met up with a servant of the Prophecy Keeper," said the whispery voice.

"What did you do with him after that?" asked the deep voice of the large figure.

"I assigned him duties elsewhere. I decided to forgive his failure because of the information he provided. I also felt it would be a waste to destroy him if he was strong enough to survive such an encounter."

"Still, what are we to do about the humans?" asked the regal voice.

"In order to reach the desert, they're going to have to travel through the Devil Brothers cave. They've hassled our servants a few times, so they should be able to handle a few mere children."

Fellangemon appeared before the seven figures, interrupting their conversations.

"Oi," called the irate voice, "How come you didn't finish the children off when you had the chance?"

"My apologies my lords," he replied, taking a slight bow. "I did not want to risk the cargo I was carrying."

"What have you brought for us?"

Fellangemon knelt before the Demon Lords and held out his hands. In one was the Digivice he had stolen from Holyangemon and in the other was the glowing strand he had taken from Seadramon.

"I present to you: the holy Digivice and a sample of data from one of the chosen Digimon."

"Most excellent Fellangemon," said Barbamon. "Are you able to use the device?"

"Regrettably not my lord, but I think it may still be of use. If we were to bring another human here, then they may be able to use the Digivice to break Seraphimon's final seal."

"Your insight is quite impressive, but how shall you travel to the Human world?"

"I should have enough power to transport myself there, although it will be difficult. Once I have a human, they should be able to use the Digivice to return."

"Well then get to it," snapped the irate voice again. "I was really looking forward to getting out of here and having some fun."

"Before you go," said the gruff voice of the largest of the Demon Lords, "leave that sample of data for me. I may have some use for it."

"Of course lord Leviamon," he said, handing over the strand of data.

After that, Fellangemon disappeared once again. As before, his departure signaled the dispersing of the Demon Lords.

**Revision Notes: **A couple of things modified in this chapter. First of all, I added a bit more to the fight between Kuwagamon and Coredramon. The reason for this is that all I really had for that fight was the finishing move from Coredramon. I also fixed a clerical error, where I mixed up Ayame and Seiichi during a conversation.


	10. Three's a Crowd

Chapter 9: Three's a Crowd

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

A couple hours had passed since their encounter with the bug Digimon. At this time, the children were just reaching the edge of the Forest Area. There was a very short distance between the edge of the forest and the mountain range. Wizardmon had gone ahead to find the cave entrance before the children arrived. When the children had all emerged from the forest, he was on his way back to meet up with them. The children ran to meet Wizardmon as soon as they saw him.

"It seems we are fortunate today," he said. "We are only a short distance north of the cave entrance."

"That's a relief," said Kioko, "everything looked the same from inside the forest so I thought we might end up lost."

"We should not waste this fortunate circumstance."

Wizardmon then lead the children to the cave entrance. From there, the children couldn't see more than a few feet into the cave, as the interior became pitch black after that. The wizard did not slow his pace and instead chanted something, causing his staff to glow brightly. Venturing into the cave, the children were thankful for it, as the darkness wasn't just a trick from the outside; it was deep and utterly black. The flames on Coronamon also provided some light, but the cave remained dark and dismal.

"About halfway through the tunnel, there is a large cavern that we can use as a rest spot when we arrive."

"Are you sure it's a good idea to rest in a place as dark as this?" asked Ayame.

"I agree," said Seiichi, "that's just asking for a sneak attack."

"That is something that you need not worry yourselves about. That cavern was intended as a resting ground, and is lit with torches."

"How come the rest of the cave isn't lit?" asked Hanae.

"The lighting of this cave was a project my associate and I were under taking. It was halted when I was sent to retrieve you."

"Who is this associate of yours?" asked Ren.

"He is a wizard type Digimon like me, and he also serves Shakkoumon."

"Does anyone else work for Shakkoumon?"

"No; only the other wizard and I. No one else aside from the Benevolent Masters has ever met with Shakkoumon, at least since the two of us have been working with him."

"Why doesn't he meet with anyone else?"

"Shakkoumon's clairvoyance is sought out by many."

"But then why doesn't he use that knowledge to help other Digimon?" asked Daichi.

"Shakkoumon knows what will come as a result of anything he reveals to anyone. From what he has told me, in most cases it results in misuse of the knowledge. Whether or not the original intentions were pure, the result ends up the same."

"So that's why he decided to hide away in the desert?"

"He keeps himself hidden but occasionally moves from place to place to avoid being found. His present location is deep in the Desert Area."

"But if the information he gives out is so dangerous, why is he going to speak with us?" asked Daichi.

"I imagine it is because he has deemed it necessary. If that were not the case, then he would not have asked for you to be brought before him."

The children's conversation was interrupted by a shriek, as something that resembled a deformed bat flew over them. Hanae let out a cry and covered her head. Labramon growled at the bat which burst into flames and disappeared. Hanae looked up to see Wizardmon hold out his hand, with a wisp of smoke coming from it.

"What was that ugly thing?" she asked.

"That was a Vilemon. They are pesky, foul little things, but not particularly strong."

"Are there any other nasty things lurking in this cave that we should know about?" asked Ayame.

"To the best of my knowledge there is not. Unfortunately, the darkness holds many secrets."

"So basically you don't know." Wizardmon ignored Ayame's comment.

After what seemed like hours of walking blindly through the cave, a speck of light became visible. The light grew larger as the children approached it. A pair of torches became visible on the walls of the cave. Every dozen feet or so another pair of torches could be found. After passing four sets of torches, the group emerged into a massive opening in the tunnel, at least one hundred feet high and several hundred wide.

"Whoa," exclaimed Daichi, "how come this part is so huge when the rest of the cave is so narrow?"

"This cavern marks the exact halfway point of the tunnel," said Wizardmon. "It is a bit of a natural wonder. It is an impressive sight, no matter how many times I see it."

"Then be glad that it is the last thing you shall ever see," came an icy voice.

The children all looked up to the source of the voice. It was quite evident that the one who had spoken was evil. His entire body was pitch black, and he had long grotesque arms that reached almost to his feet. He had a pair of long horns on his head, and glowing red eyes. On his back was a pair of black wings that were tattered and filled with holes.

Daichi whipped out his Digivice and scanned the new Digimon; 'Devimon', 'Champion,' 'Virus', 'Touch of Evil'. Alongside Devimon two more Digimon appeared. The two looked identical to Devimon, with the exception of their colours. One of them was a pale blue and the other was bright orange. Daichi's scans revealed them to be 'IceDevimon' and 'FlameDevimon' respectively.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves," said Devimon.

"We are the Devimon brothers," continued IceDevimon.

"This cavern is our humble home," finished FlameDevimon.

"For the crime of barging in uninvited, we're going to destroy the lot of you."

"Be careful children," called Wizardmon, "the Devimon are very powerful."

"It doesn't look like we have a choice," said Seiichi. "They clearly intend to fight us."

"If it's a fight they want then that's what they'll get," said Daichi holding out his Digivice.

Ren, Seiichi, Ayame and Hanae held out their Digivices as well. The Digivices flashed as Dracomon, Commandramon, Coronamon, Lunamon and Labramon all evolved. Coredramon and the others emerged from the evolution light in a line between the children and the Devimon. Evan held out his Digivice to Betamon, wanting to help out. However instead of the usual flashing, his Digivice gave off sparks as though it was short circuiting.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Sorry Evan," said Betamon, "I just can't do it."

"It's alright; the others should be able to handle this."

The three Devimon smirked in unison at their champion level opponents. Together, they charged at Coredramon. The three of them were able to knock him back before darting into the air. Coredramon roared 'Flare Blast', spouting a stream of blue fire from his mouth. The Devimon quickly darted away before the flames could connect. Coredramon growled and cut off the flames, before stepping aside to let the others through.

Sealsdramon watched the Devimon as they darted through the air. They were moving very quickly and he was unable to lock onto them with his mechanical eye. Before he had time to notice, Devimon appeared in front of him. Sealsdramon slashed at him with his knife, but was unable to land a hit. Devimon got around behind him and called 'Touch of Evil', striking him hard with a fist.

Dobermon charged at Devimon after he struck Sealsdramon, who had been sent flying. He jumped up and bared his claws, shouting 'Panzer Claw'. Devimon smirked and seemed to fade into the shadows cast by the flickering torchlight. Dobermon landed forcibly as his claws grasped nothing but air. IceDevimon flew in from the side and called 'Frozen Claw'. He struck Dobermon in the side, causing small chucks of ice to form. The cold was so intense that it was painful, causing the great dog to howl mournfully.

Firamon leapt at IceDevimon as Dobermon fell to the ground. He called out 'Fira Claw' and his front claws burst into flame. Before he could reach IceDevimon though, FlameDevimon emerged in front of him. He caught Firamon's claws in his hands, extinguishing the flames. Firamon flew backwards, but FlameDevimon flew at him yelling 'Burning Hands'. He struck Firamon on either side of the head with a hand, both of which were wreathed in flames. The blow threw the flaming lion to the ground.

Seiichi, observing the fight cursed under his breath. The Devimon were coordinating their movements while their partners were just attacking at random.

"Ayame," he called to his sister, "The Devimon know what they're doing. We need to attack them together."

"Right," she said, "Lekismon, go with Firamon and attack the same one!"

Lekismon nodded in response and leapt at IceDevimon. IceDevimon swerved aside but Lekismon quickly spun around and kicked him with as much force as she could muster. The blow threw IceDevimon downwards where Firamon leapt up to meet him. IceDevimon snickered as both Devimon and FlameDevimon appeared behind Lekismon. They grabbed her together and threw her at Firamon, knocking them both back to the ground. Kioko and Elecmon looked on in horror as their friends were mercilessly defeated.

"C'mon Kioko we have to help them!"

"I'm not sure that we can, look how easily they were beaten."

"That doesn't mean we shouldn't try."

Just then, Devimon appeared in front of Kioko. Wizardmon stepped forward and shot a bolt of lightning at him. Devimon merely cocked his head to the side, allowing the bolt to fly past him. He then swatted Wizardmon aside with a sweep of his claw. Elecmon called out 'Thunder Strike', launching another bolt of lightning. The attack connected, but it had no effect on Devimon.

"I won't let you harm Kioko," she growled boldly.

Devimon laughed cruelly, "Of course you won't. That's why I'm going to get rid of you first." He then grasped Elecmon and started squeezing her.

"Elecmon no!" called Kioko.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I just wanted to help the others."

"No this is my fault; I didn't even try to help them."

"It's not too late; you just have to believe in yourself."

Kioko nodded and thrust out her Digivice. It erupted with a bright flashing light that caused Devimon to stumble backwards, dropping Elecmon. Elecmon was enveloped by the light and began to grow. "ELECMON EVOLUTION" she called out. When the light faded, Elecmon had been replaced by an angelic figure. She had four golden wings on her back and golden armour covering part of her body. She had two swords sheathed at her waist and wore a helm similar to Holyangemon's, save that hers was emblazoned with wings instead of a cross. "D'ARCMON!"

Devimon sneered at D'arcmon, not pleased with what he saw. Kioko looked at her in awe.

"Told you we could do it," said D'arcmon. Kioko only nodded.

"What makes you think that you can make any difference?" Devimon asked smugly.

D'arcmon simply smiled and, faster than Devimon could blink, flew around behind him. She kicked him to the ground but turned around when IceDevimon and FlameDevimon charged at her. She drew her two swords, one catching each of the attacking hands. She called out 'La Pucelle', slashing outwards at the two Devimon. The attack threw both of them back. They prepared to charge at her again when Coredramon roared at them.

"Did you forget about me?"

Coredramon roared again and called out 'Flare Blast' at the two Devimon. They stopped dead and turned towards Coredramon as he attacked. FlameDevimon managed to avoid the attack but IceDevimon wasn't so lucky. The flames consumed him entirely, and he had disappeared when they died out.

"Brother!"

FlameDevimon reached out towards his deceased brother as he watched his destruction. While he was distracted D'arcmon drew a cross in the air with her swords, calling out 'Bapteme d'Amour'. The cross flew at FlameDevimon and passed cleanly through him. He managed to stammer briefly before he too was destroyed. D'arcmon floated gently back down to Kioko. Wizardmon stood up and walked over to the two of them.

"Devimon managed to escape in the confusion," he said.

"Oh well, at least we won't have to worry about the other two anymore," said Kioko, letting out a sigh of relief.

D'arcmon smiled and nodded in agreement. The other children gathered around the angel Digimon and looked on in wonderment. The other partner Digimon gathered around her as well, having reverted to their rookie forms. They all sought to express their thanks and praises to her.

"You were incredible D'arcmon," said Dracomon.

"Thank you, but remember that you defeated IceDevimon as well. You should be thanking Kioko though, since she's the one who allowed me to evolve."

Wizardmon looked at D'arcmon, seemingly puzzled by something.

"What's the matter Wizardmon?"

"Something seems odd to me. Normally at the end of a fight, you chosen Digimon revert to your lower levels. However; D'arcmon has remained at the champion stage."

"You're right," said Kioko, looking D'arcmon up and down. "How are you doing that?"

"This is the first time I have ever evolved. As such I'm not sure what, if anything, I did differently."

"We shall have to ask Shakkoumon of this, but for now we need to rest."

The children nodded their agreement and prepared for a night of rest in the cavern. Wizardmon offered to stay awake and keep watch, in case Devimon came back. The rest of the group was able to fall asleep fairly easily, considering the action they had been through that day.

**Authors Notes: **D'arcmon's attacks were called out in French because I think they sound cooler that way. It's also they way they were originally written. The translations are: La Pucelle = 'The Maiden', which comes from the name of her pair of swords 'Puissance De La Pucelle' (Purity of the Maiden). Bapteme d'Amour = 'Christening of Love'

**Revision Notes: **Not much of note here, aside from the usual grammar edits and Wizardmon dialogue updates.


	11. A Matter of Strength

Chapter 10: A Matter of Strength

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

After their night of rest in the cavern, the group proceeded out of the mountain tunnel. They were able to traverse the second half of the tunnel much more quickly, due to the guiding torchlight. When they emerged from the tunnel they beheld an enormous span of desert, golden sand reaching as far as the eye could see. Daichi managed to let out an impressed whistle.

"Man I thought the forest was big," he muttered.

"The Digital World is divided into seven major areas," stated Wizardmon, "and they are all vast."

"We've seen the Forest and Desert Areas now, but what are the other five?" asked Kioko.

"There are the Ocean, City, Mountain, Plain and Glacier Areas. There is also the forbidden Dark Area, where the Demon Lords are imprisoned."

"I imagine we'll have to travel to this Dark Area at some point then," said Seiichi, "if we are to defeat the Demon Lords."

Wizardmon only nodded in response to the grim prospect.

"What's the Dark Area like?" asked Evan.

"It is a barren and desolate place. It was there that the Benevolent Masters fought with the Demon Lords many eons ago. The battle that they waged there tore the land asunder, rendering it uninhabitable for all but the foulest Digimon."

"Sounds like the perfect place for a bunch of supremely evil Demons."

"We are quite fortunate that Seraphimon's last act was to place a final seal on the Dark Area. Had he not done so, the Demon Lords would have been free to conquer the Digital World. As a consequence of that, we would all likely have been killed."

"Don't worry, we'll beat them," said Daichi confidently. "After all that's what we were brought here for."

"It will take more than determination to defeat the Demon Lords."

"Hopefully Shakkoumon will fill us in on what else we're gonna need to pull it off," commented Ayame.

"I hope that he can also tell us what happened to me," said D'arcmon, who had still not reverted to Elecmon.

"It doesn't seem to be a bad thing though," said Kioko. "I would think that constantly evolving back and forth would waste a lot of energy."

"You do have a point," said Dracomon. "Every time I evolve always feel really tired afterwards."

"I don't feel tired at all," said D'arcmon. "Perhaps that does have something to do with it."

The group continued for several hours through the endless sand of the desert. D'arcmon flew up a few times to look for landmarks or anything else to indicate their location. All she managed to find was endless stretches of sand. Nonetheless, Wizardmon continued to lead on as though he knew where they were going. The children decided to continue following his lead, since he did know the Digital World better than they did.

"It all looks the same from up here," she said, descending back to the group.

"Are you sure you're going the right way?" asked Ren.

"I am quite sure," replied Wizardmon. "I have traversed this route many times."

"How do you know it's the same route? It all looks the same to us."

"That is because you are not familiar with the Digital World. I have been here for much longer than you have, and have developed a familiarity for the places I have called home."

Before Ren could reply, a rumble shook the ground beneath the group. The group ran away from the site of the rumbling as the sand began to shift. As they ran, a large hole formed in the sand where they had just been standing. From this hole, a large Digimon emerged and let out a growl.

The new Digimon resembled a gigantic trilobite. It had blade like spines down the side of its body and on its back, and an even crueler looking one on its tail. The Digimon stood directly in the path the children had been taking, and swerved to face them when they moved to pass it. Daichi brought out his Digivice and scanned the new foe; 'Scorpiomon', 'Ultimate', 'Data', 'Scorpion Storm'.

"What's an Ultimate?" he muttered to himself. He shrugged it off and held his Digivice towards Dracomon.

"Be careful children," called Wizardmon, "I do not think you can defeat this Digimon. It would be best if we took a route that allowed us to avoid it."

"But you said time is a factor, didn't you? If we take the time to avoid this thing, then it might cause problems. Besides; it doesn't look that tough."

"Looks can be deceiving…" Wizardmon trailed off, as he felt something tingle in the back of his mind.

The other children nodded their agreement with Daichi. In unison, save for Evan, they pulled out their Digivices, all of which lit up immediately. Their partners were bathed in the emitted light and evolved into their champion forms. Coredramon stood directly in front of Scorpiomon and roared fiercely. D'arcmon flew directly above it and drew her swords. Firamon and Dobermon ran around to its left side while Lekismon and Sealsdramon took the right. Sealsdramon looked Scorpiomon over with his mechanical eye and called out to the others;

"It has a soft underbelly," he shouted.

Coredramon charged at Scorpiomon, planting his hands firmly on its foremost claws. He grunted and attempted to flip the larger Digimon onto its back, in order to give the others access to its underside. Before he could manage this, two tendrils unfurled from its head and wrapped around his arms. With these tendrils, Scorpiomon was easily able to lift Coredramon and throw him backwards. He landed on his back, and found himself buried partially by the sand.

At the sight of Coredramon getting thrown aside, the four Digimon flanking Scorpiomon charged at it together. The mollusk Digimon spun around, displaying a surprising amount of agility for a beast of its size. The spinning motion struck all four of the partner Digimon with the blades on its sides. All four of them were thrown back forcibly, landing roughly in the sand.

D'arcmon witnessed the downfall of the other five from above. She drew a cross in the air with her swords again and called 'Bapteme d'Amour'. The cross shot downwards at Scorpiomon, who was struck square in the back. Although the blow forced it to recoil slightly, its carapace did not bear as much as a scratch. She grimaced at the sight, but was also confused as to why the attack had no effect.

D'arcmon flew downwards and struck at Scorpiomon directly with her swords. It let out a piercing screech as one of her swords pierced its back. It contracted the blades on its back, forcing D'arcmon to remove her sword in order to deflect them. It then swung its bladed tail at her, throwing her off its back. She regained her balance momentarily, but the mollusk Digimon lashed out with its tail again. The blade cut into her side, causing her to drop her swords. As she was clutching her wound, Scorpiomon struck her with the blunt part of its tail, throwing her to the ground. She struck the ground hard and lost consciousness.

Sealsdramon had regained his footing now and was looking for another weak point. He attempted to throw his knife into one of Scorpiomon's eyes. Scorpiomon deflected the knife with one of its front claws, which it then used to lash at Sealsdramon. He pulled out his other knife and drove it into the oncoming claw. He used the knife as a grounding point to push the claw back. Unfortunately; Scorpiomon's other claw was uninhibited, and it used it to strike him square in the chest. He was knocked back and, before he hit the ground, degenerated into Commandramon.

While Scorpiomon was distracted by Sealsdramon, Dobermon, Lekismon and Firamon grouped together. They planned to attack it from behind together. They ran at it from behind but were stopped by a swing of its tail. With one wide sweeping motion, the larger Digimon took out all three of them. After landing forcefully they reverted to their rookie forms.

Coredramon had pulled himself back up as the others were being defeated. He roared at Scorpiomon and called out 'Flare Blast'. He spat a stream of blue fire at his opponent, hoping to overpower him. When the flames died off, Scorpiomon was gone and there was a hole where he had been. Coredramon roared again, thinking he was victorious.

His revelry was short lived when another hole opened up beneath him. One of Scorpiomon's tendrils wrapped around his leg and pulled it under the sand. Coredramon fell onto his back again as Scorpiomon emerged from the sand. Scorpiomon slashed at Coredramon with his front claws. Coredramon let out a painful roar and was enveloped by light, turning back into Dracomon.

The defeated partners gathered around Wizardmon and the children.

"Man this guy is though," exclaimed Daichi.

"What are we going to do?" asked Hanae, worriedly.

"Running strikes me as a good idea," replied Evan.

Before they could get away, Scorpiomon loomed over them. The children could clearly see a large circular mouth on his underside.

"Great; now we get to be someone's lunch," sneered Ayame.

Hanae started to cry and Labramon attempted to console her. Scorpiomon spewed a violent stream of sand from his mouth. The group was caught up in the miniature sandstorm, and all but Daichi were knocked out. He was forced to his knees under the pressure of the attack. He suddenly felt exhausted, and struggled to retain his consciousness.

"Damn it," he said, punching the sand, "It can't end like this."

From somewhere in the distance he heard a voice call out 'Justice Beam'. Immediately afterwards a beam of bright orange light grazed Scorpiomon's back. The mollusk Digimon howled in pain, and tried to burrow into the sand again. Before he could, the same voice called out 'Kachina Bomb'. A large, spiked clay disk flew at Scorpiomon and exploded. The explosion ripped Scorpiomon apart, leaving nothing behind.

Daichi saw a figure approaching from the direction the voice had called from. Before it became clear what it was, he lost consciousness. The figure hovered above the desert surface, and was followed after by another Digimon. The two of them looked down at the unconscious group.

"Why did you hesitate before assisting them my lord?"

"I did what I did for a reason. The children had something they needed to see. My act of hesitation merely allowed them to see it first hand."

* * *

When Daichi awoke, he appeared to be in a completely different place. He was in a large hall that reminded him of a temple. The other children and Digimon were awakening around him, also confused about their whereabouts. They were approached by two figures. The first figure bore a striking resemblance to Wizardmon, but his clothes were a mixture of white and blue. He also had a snowflake amulet atop his staff instead of a sun.

The other figure was much larger than the wizard. He resembled a clay idol with a pair of small wings on his back. His body was silver in colour, and bore numerous gold markings. He was also adorned with several large jewels. In place of feet he had what appeared to be large suction cups, and had three claws at the end of each arm in place of hands.

"Welcome Children of Virtue," rang out the metallic voice of the idol. "I am Shakkoumon; Keeper of Prophecies."

**Authors Notes**: Short Chapter, I know. This chapter was meant to showcase the difference in power between the ultimate and champion levels as well as introduce Shakkoumon. I wanted to save his talk with the children for the next chapter.

**Revision Notes: **This chapter was really short. As of now I have extended the fight scene as a whole, and added some additional dialogue. I figured it would make sense for Shakkoumon to explain his motives, since he had waited until after they got clobbered to help the group. Wizardmon noticed this, which was the tingle in the back of his mind.


	12. The Prophecy Keeper

Chapter 11: The Prophecy Keeper

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

The children stared at Shakkoumon with confused looks on their faces. His bizarre appearance had caused them a fair amount of shock. They had been expecting his form to be more similar to that of Seraphimon or the other angels, based on how he was revered by the other Digimon. Nonetheless, Wizardmon walked over to him and knelt before him.

"I have returned Lord Shakkoumon," he said. "I have retrieved the Children of Virtue as you asked."

The white wizard walked over to Wizardmon and patted him on the back; "Welcome back brother," he said warmly.

"I would ask you kindly not to address me as such while we are in Lord Shakkoumon's presence, Sorcerymon."

"Sorry Wizardmon, I was just worried that you might have gotten into trouble."

"They look like twins," muttered Seiichi to Ayame.

"More so than us anyways," she replied with a snicker. "They don't seem to be on very good terms though."

Shakkoumon looked down on Wizardmon as he chastised his brother. The children could not discern an expression on his face, but Wizardmon seemed to understand something they didn't. He then stood up and took his place on Shakkoumon's side opposite Sorcerymon. Shakkoumon hovered half a foot off the floor, and inched closer to the children and their Digimon.

"Welcome, Children of Virtue, to my home," he said in a metallic voice.

"Um… thanks for having us," said Daichi, attempting to be polite.

"If you don't mind my asking, Mister Shakkoumon," began Hanae, "How come you look like a big teapot."

The other children looked at Hanae, horrified at what she had just said. Catching their glances, Hanae placed her hands over her mouth as though it would retract what she had just said. To the group's surprise, Shakkoumon chuckled. It was somewhat strange, since his laughter was in the same metallic fashion as his speech.

"I am not sure of the exact reasons behind the form I currently take," he said. "However; I believe it, like many things here, holds its origins in the folklore of your world."

The children breathed a collective sigh of relief that they hadn't offended Shakkoumon. They took a moment to stand up and brush some of the sand off themselves. The Prophecy Keeper waited for them to finish before addressing them again.

"Now, I know there are many things you would like to ask me," he said. "This time you shall have the opportunity to ask them all, as there will be no interruptions here."

"Where do you think we should start?" asked Evan.

"How about at the beginning," suggested Seiichi.

"Where exactly is the beginning?" asked Ren in response. Seiichi shrugged.

"What I want to know," said Daichi bluntly, "is why we got clobbered so easily in that last battle."

"Very well," said Shakkoumon, "we shall start there. Please be seated, you needn't tire yourselves by standing."

The children nodded and seated themselves back on the floor.

"Digimon are both very similar to and very different from creatures of your world. Like you, we possess the ability to grow, evolve and change to adapt to new circumstances. However; our evolution is not gradual, unlike the natural adaptation process of creatures of your world. We evolve through a series of distinct levels."

"Yeah, we noticed that when our partners evolve from their current forms to bigger ones. It's anything but subtle," commented Ayame.

"When a Digimon is first born, it takes on an infant form. As its evolution progresses, it goes through the In-Training, Rookie, Champion, Ultimate and Mega stages. There are limits to how fast and how far Digimon can evolve, which makes it progressively harder to evolve farther. As such, the higher levels of evolution hold fewer Digimon."

"But in that last fight the enemy was only one level higher than us and we had him out numbered six to one," said Ren. "Why is it that we were unable to even faze him?"

"The difference in power between the subsequent levels of evolution becomes exponential. There are some exceptions, but typically six Digimon of one level isn't enough to defeat a Digimon of one level higher."

"Then what about us? How are we supposed to defeat opponents of higher levels?"

"The answer is simple, yet perhaps not all that obvious to you. Your partners must evolve to a higher level of evolution themselves."

"You just said that there are limits to how fast Digimon can evolve," said Seiichi. "So how are we supposed to reach those higher levels?"

"That is the primary reason why you humans were called here. The devices you were given, the Digivices, are a means with which to break the limits of a Digimon's evolution. However they will not function on their own and Digimon cannot use them."

"So, we're just here to make the Digimon evolve until they're strong enough to defeat the Demon Lords?"

"No, that is not all. Evolution alone will not provide the power needed to defeat the Demon Lords. You humans possess a power that Digimon do not. Even I do not fully understand it, but I know that it is necessary. Humans working together with Digimon will unleash this power, and it is that power which is needed to defeat the Demon Lords."

"Alright then, how do we get our partners to evolve to those higher levels?"

"I am afraid that is something I cannot tell you, as you must discover it for yourselves. All I can tell you is that before you can obtain the next level of power, you must master the power you already have."

"I wonder which power that is."

"I have a question now," said Evan. "Last time Betamon tried to evolve he was not able to. Do you know why?"

"I believe I have an answer for you. Fellangemon attacked you at the lake when Betamon evolved for the first time, did he not?"

"Yes he did, but how did you know that?"

"Remember," cut in Daichi, "this guy knows all and sees all, or something like that."

Shakkoumon continued; "While he was attacking, did you see him take anything from Seadramon?"

"Yes I did, now that you mention it. When Fellangemon pulled his scythe out of Seadramon, some kind of glowing strand was attached to it."

"Then it seems that I my thoughts on the matter were correct. I believe that strand you saw was a portion of Seadramon's data. With a fragment of his data absent, Betamon is incomplete and incapable of achieving his potential."

"So that's what was missing," commented Wizardmon.

"How can we get the data back for him?"

"I'm afraid that is another thing you must accomplish on your own. It is my purpose to point you children in the right direction, but I cannot hand you the answers."

"There's another thing currently unanswered," piped in D'arcmon. "Why did I not revert to my rookie form like the others after I evolved?"

"I can only answer that question in part. It is related to Kioko, and her status as a Child of Virtue. Each of the seven of you represents a distinct virtue."

"Do you mean like the Seven Cardinal Virtues?" asked Kioko.

"I am pleased to see that you are so well learned, young Kioko. You represent the virtue of Humility. However, on the negative side, you sometimes doubted your own capabilities. Once you were able to rid yourself of that doubt, you unveiled the true nature of your virtue."

"What about the rest of us?" asked Ren.

"I'm afraid that I cannot answer that part of the question. I was able to tell you of Kioko because she had already unleashed her virtue."

"Maybe that's what he meant about mastering the power we already had."

Shakkoumon simply nodded in response.

"So then in order to move to the next level of evolution we have to discover which virtue we represent, and overcome the flaw associated with that virtue," summarized Seiichi. Shakkoumon nodded again.

"A word of caution; even if you obtain the next level of power, it may not be enough. Even within the same stage of evolution, there are varied levels of power from one Digimon to the next."

"Can you tell us anything more about the Demon Lords themselves?"

"Yes, but again not much. As you know they are the most powerful evil Digimon to ever exist. They are: Barbamon; the Greedy Sage, Beelzemon; the Gluttonous Bandit, Belphemon; the Slothful Giant, Daemon; the Wrathful Specter, Leviamon; the Envious Serpent, Lilithmon; the Lustful Vampiress and Lucemon; the Vain Ruler.

"Is that all you can tell us?"

"The only things I know about the Demon Lords that I have not told you are too horrific to speak of. You must face the Demon Lords, but you need not torment yourself with knowledge of their past atrocities."

"That kind of statement is really only good for prompting further curiosity."

"Not from me," said Hanae. "I don't wanna know the nasty things they've done before, it's probably really scary."

"Curiosity or not, I would still choose not to divulge those details. As young Hanae said, they are quite frightening."

"I actually have one last question," said Daichi. "Why do you always add 'mon' to the end of your names? Is it some kind of honorific?"

The other children stared at Daichi for the irrelevant nature of his question, but Shakkoumon merely chuckled again.

"It is not an honorific," he replied, "its just part of our names. It has always been that way here. Now; since all of your questions have been answered, I suggest that you take some time to rest. I'm sure the last battle took quite a toll on you and your partners."

"We have prepared a meal for you in one of the adjacent halls," said Sorcerymon. "In addition we have lodgings that should suffice for the night."

"While you are resting, we shall prepare some provisions for the next stage of your journey," added Wizardmon, who then gathered the bags of Evan, Daichi and Kioko. The children and their partners then followed Sorcerymon into the next room.

* * *

The land here was barren, with demolished buildings and a few dead trees dotting the landscape. The scenery here was identical to that in the Dark Area. However; the Moon was visible in the sky, indicating that it was not within the confines of the Dark Area. Here, Fellangemon stood with his scythe planted firmly in the ground.

The ground beneath Fellangemon was marked with an intricate drawing; a magic seal of some sort. Large amounts of dark energy streamed from his body and filled the markings of the seal. The seal glowed with a pale grey light and from it an orb expanded, consuming Fellangemon.

Outside the orb, time and space both seemed to start moving faster. The purpose of this orb was to synchronize Fellangemon's time with that of the Human World. Fellangemon acted as quickly as he could once the orb was erected. He picked up his scythe and used it to tear a hole in the air in front of him. On the other side of this hole, the Human World was visible. He stepped through the tear, which then closed quickly behind him.

Looking around, Fellangemon could see that it was late in the afternoon here where it had been night when he had left. He could see a large white building nearby that was marked with a red cross. He also saw a young boy sitting on a bench, crying.

The boy noticed Fellangemon and was startled. He stood up from the bench and backed away from Fellangemon, but tripped and fell backwards. Fellangemon looked at the boy and, using the sight he had taken from Holyangemon, gazed into his heart. The aura surrounding the boy indicated a virtuous heart, but one that was also in desperation. Fellangemon smiled and held out his hand to the boy…

**Authors Notes: **I knew that this chapter would be mostly if not entirely a Q&A session with Shakkoumon, but I also wanted to reveal what Fellangemon was up to. Since the chapter was a bit short I decided to add that on to the end. Who is the boy and what will Fellangemon do with him? You'll find out in a later chapter. Enjoy the suspense.

**Revision Notes: **This chapter was another one that seemed to dislike using commas, even when they're appropriate or necessary. I also added some new dialogue to the conversation with Shakkoumon, in order to address some question cut offs that were a little too abrupt. Thanks for continuing to read.


	13. A Rock and a Hard Place

Chapter 12: A Rock and a Hard Place

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

The children and their Digimon gathered in front of a bizarre looking staircase. They had been told it was the entrance to Shakkoumon's home, and that it leads back to the desert surface. Nearby were Shakkoumon, Sorcerymon and Wizardmon. Wizardmon stepped forward and presented the children with the three bags that had belonged to Daichi, Evan and Kioko. The three children reclaimed their respective bags and donned them.

"We have filled these with enough provisions to last two weeks," said Wizardmon.

"They have been enchanted so that the space inside can hold everything you would need, but without having the weight become a hindrance" added Sorcerymon.

"Thanks a lot," said Kioko. "I don't think finding food in a desert would be very easy, especially enough to feed seven people and their Digimon."

"I knew that you might be in need of them, so I had these provisions prepared in advance," replied Shakkoumon.

The children then ascended the staircase back to the desert, followed closely by Shakkoumon.

"I believe it would be best for you to travel in that direction," he said, raising one of his arms. "Before you depart, I shall give you another word of caution: Be careful not to succumb to the flaws in your virtues. If you do, it will be more difficult for you to overcome them afterwards."

"Don't worry, we'll be careful," replied Daichi with confidence.

"Thank you for all your help," said Seiichi, bowing slightly to Shakkoumon. The other children and their Digimon bowed as well.

"You need not thank me; it was my duty to guide you. More than that it was my pleasure to do so. I care deeply for this world, and I know that you will be the ones to save it from evil."

With those parting words Shakkoumon descended the staircase again. The staircase then rose up, closing off the underground home. Only another patch of desert was left visible in its wake. The children then began to travel in the direction Shakkoumon had indicated. The group's journey through the desert began peacefully, but that peace eventually turned into boredom.

After a couple hours, Daichi decided to combat his boredom by playing with his Digivice. He flipped through the 'Stored Data' and eventually came across Seraphimon. Reading over the data, Seraphimon was listed as 'Vaccine' and 'Mega', but next to the word Mega was another symbol which Daichi hadn't seen before. Ren came up to Daichi and looked over his shoulder;

"What are you up to?" he asked.

"Oh, just fiddling with this," replied Daichi. "Apparently Seraphimon was a Mega level Digimon."

"He was that powerful? I guess that should have been expected from one of the Benevolent Masters," remarked Evan.

"Yeah, but he still got beaten. Guess what Shakkoumon said about Digimon having different strengths even within the same level was true."

"Speaking of what Shakkoumon said; has anyone given any thought to figuring out the virtue dilemma?"

"Wait; Kioko, you said you knew what the virtues he was talking about were," said Ayame.

"Um sort of," she replied. "I think he was referring to The Seven Cardinal Virtues. It would make sense, since the Demon Lords all had titles related to the Seven Deadly Sins. The virtues are supposedly the most beneficial character traits a person can have."

"He said that you represented Humility, but what are the other six?"

"The other six virtues are: Determination, Generosity, Patience, Kindness, Balance and Purity. Oh and Purity is sometimes known as honesty or sincerity."

"So if we each represent one of those virtues, then unlocking the power we need should simply be a matter of determining who has which virtue."

"What do you think Kioko, any idea on who fits which virtue?" asked Hanae.

"Well I can't say for sure, since I've only known you guys for the week or so that we've been here. However, it seems to me that Daichi would best represent Determination, since he never gives up."

"Sweet," said Daichi, "that totally sounds like me. Any other ideas?"

"Well Seiichi might represent Patience, since he likes to think things through and plan ahead. Keep in mind that I'm only guessing."

"Well it's a start," remarked Seiichi. "We still have some time to figure it out though, since the barrier on the Dark Area is still there."

"The rest of you I'm not really sure about though. Sorry I couldn't be of more help."

"Don't sweat it," said Ayame, patting Kioko on the back. "You've been more than enough help already. Besides, Shakkoumon said we were supposed to figure it out for ourselves. You gave us a place to start and that's plenty."

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks Ayame," she said, smiling.

"Help!" came a cry from a distance.

"Looks like we might have a chance to try it out sooner then we think," said Daichi.

Daichi then looked in the direction the cry had come from. He had to rub his eyes to make sure he was seeing things correctly. To him, it looked like a small pile of rocks was being chased by a big pile of rocks. Both were vaguely human shaped.

"I'll go ahead and see what the trouble is," said D'arcmon, flying towards the rock creatures.

"Dracomon, you go too," said Daichi, holding out his flashing Digivice.

"No problem," he replied, as he was bathed in the evolutionary light. Coredramon then ran off after D'arcmon.

The smaller Digimon tripped as it ran from the bigger one. It cowered as the larger rock creature loomed over it. Before the larger creature could strike, D'arcmon swooped in and snatched it away. Coredramon followed up by ramming into the larger creature. D'arcmon flew back to the group, who had followed after Coredramon. Landing in the midst of the children she set the small rock creature down.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" said the small rock creature.

"No problem," replied Kioko. "Mind if we ask your name?"

"Well I'm Gotsumon, but what about you guys? I've never seen Digimon like you before."

"That's because we're not Digimon, we're humans," said Ayame.

"Really? I always thought humans were a myth."

"We get that a lot," said Evan, chuckling.

"So, what was that thing chasing you?"

"It was a Golemon. They're evil rock Digimon that serve the Demon Lords. I stumbled across its territory so it started attacking me."

"Well then it's a good thing we came along," piped in Daichi. "You can stick with us; we'll keep you safe."

Meanwhile Coredramon was grappling with the Golemon. Golemon struck Coredramon hard in the chest with a gigantic rock fist. Coredramon was pushed back, but he roared as flames licked around his mouth. 'Flare Blast' he called, spewing fire at Golemon. Unfortunately, the rock beast was completely unaffected by the flames. It charged through them to Coredramon, striking him again with its fist.

"Daichi," called Coredramon, "we have a problem; this thing is fireproof."

"Alright then guys, lets help him out," said Seiichi.

"Hold on guys," said Daichi. "This might be a good opportunity to test something out."

"What do you mean?" asked Ren.

"I mean about what Kioko said earlier. If my virtue really is Determination then I should be able to unleash it by encouraging Coredramon to not give up against this thing."

"Do you think that would work?"

"Only one way to find out," he said and then ran over to Coredramon. "Come on Coredramon, you can take this overgrown rock pile."

"Right," said Coredramon, charging into Golemon.

Coredramon managed to knock Golemon back, but it quickly regained its footing and pushed back against him. With one hand, it was able to shove him to the ground and then proceeded to pummel him repeatedly. Coredramon roared furiously under the assault.

"You can't let that boulder brain push you around!"

Coredramon swiped at Golemon's legs with his tail, knocking it off balance. He then stood up and unleashed another stream of fire. Like before, the fire did nothing. The rock beast then slammed its fist into Coredramon's head, knocking him on his back again.

"Daichi, I don't think its working," called Ren. "We're gonna come help out."

"No don't! If I let you guys help it's like giving up. If I want to unleash my virtue I have to keep going."

Daichi's Digivice began to emit a strange light; different from what had appeared before. Coredramon glowed with the same light, and his scales changed from blue to green. His wings seemed to decay as holes appeared in them.

"Coredramon, are you alright?" called Daichi.

Coredramon only roared fiercely in response. The light from Daichi's Digivice turned a putrid green colour and his partner was bathed in it. His shape began to change and his size almost doubled. When the putrid light faded from the dragon, he had changed completely. He now walked on all four legs, and in place of his wings two gigantic claws jutted out of his back. A pair of piston like objects poked out of his front legs and a giant spiked ball formed on his tail. Daichi scanned the new form with his Digivice; 'Groundramon', 'Ultimate', 'Virus', 'Megaton Crush'.

"This can't be right," he muttered to himself, looking at Groundramon.

Groundramon roared again and sent Golemon flying with a sweep of his claw. He then charged towards the fallen rock beast. While this was happening, the other Children ran up to Daichi.

"Is that Coredramon's evolved form?" asked Ren.

"He looks really scary," said Hanae, shying away from Daichi.

"I don't know," he replied. "My Digivice said he was an Ultimate, but something just doesn't feel right."

"Oh no," muttered Kioko, "remember what Shakkoumon said before we left?"

"Which part of it?"

"He warned us not to succumb to the flaws in our virtues. I think Daichi may have done so without realizing it."

"How would I have done that?"

"I know you meant well by encouraging Coredramon not to give up, but I think you pushed him too hard. He was getting badly hurt and you just kept forcing him to fight."

"I…" was all Daichi could manage before hanging his head in defeat. He had messed up and he now realized it. He had turned Coredramon into a monster and he wasn't sure if he would be able to fix it.

By now Golemon had regained its footing, but it did not attack Groundramon. Instead, it made some sort of signal with its hands. At this signal, three more Golemon rose out of the sand behind Groundramon and charged to attack him. With one swing of the spiked hammer on his tail, Groundramon pulverized all three Golemon before they could get close enough to attack. The three of them were reduced to dust and then deleted.

The lead Golemon prepared to make another signal, presumably to call more allies. Before it could, Groundramon charged at it and grabbed it with one of the massive claws on his back. He then pressed Golemon between the two of his claws, crushing it down into sand. He let out a fierce roar to signal his victory, as the sand blew away and disappeared.

"What are we going to do about him now?" asked Ayame.

"D'arcmon, see if you can bring him back to his senses," said Kioko.

"Right," she replied and then flew off over Groundramon. She lowered herself in front of him in order to speak. "Dracomon if you're in there you can calm yourself; the enemy has been defeated."

Groundramon simply snarled at D'arcmon and swiped at her with the large claws on his back. D'arcmon quickly ascended in order to avoid the attack.

"D'arcmon he's not going to listen; get out of there."

D'arcmon obliged and flew back over to the group. As she returned Daichi ran towards Groundramon.

"What are you doing, he'll kill you!"

"This is my fault, I have to try and fix it," he replied, bringing forth his Digivice. He ran up to Groundramon, who turned to face him, snarling.

"Coredramon, please stop this. I'm sorry I forced you to fight."

Groundramon completely ignored Daichi's words and snarled at him again. He then swung one of his front claws at Daichi. Although the swipe did not hit Daichi, the force of the swing threw him to the ground, where he dropped his Digivice. A small port opened up on the bottom of the Digivice and seemed to have an effect on Groundramon.

Groundramon was enveloped by the same putrid green light that had been there when he evolved. This time the light was being drawn away from him, sucked into the port on the Digivice. As more and more light was sucked off of Groundramon he began to shrink. When the last of the light left him, he had reverted back to Dracomon. The port on the Digivice then closed.

Daichi picked Dracomon up and hugged him, a few tears running down his face; "I'm so sorry Dracomon."

"I'll be alright," replied Dracomon weakly. "You were just trying to do your best because you wanted to succeed at saving this world."

"Yeah, but I put you in danger; you could have gotten hurt or worse."

"Um I'm not sure if I'm interrupting," interrupted Gotsumon, "but I just wanted to say thank you for saving me from Golemon."

"You're welcome," said Dracomon, "I just hope that next time I won't need saving afterwards."

"Don't worry buddy," said Daichi, tightening his hug, "I'll make sure this doesn't happen again."

**Revision Notes: **Not too much in this chapter. I had Kioko go into a bit more detail about the virtues and also added a mention of the sins. I also added a couple extra details to the fight between Groundramon and the Golemon.


	14. A Tangled Web

Chapter 13: A Tangled Web

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

Two days had passed since the incident with Groundramon, both without significant happenings. Gotsumon had remained with the group, presumably for his own protection. His presence was actually appreciated by the group, as he knew his way around the desert better than they did. Daichi had remained quiet for most of that time, despite Dracomon's attempts to cheer him up. The other children were beginning to worry about him.

"Daichi seems really upset over what happened to Dracomon, doesn't he?" whispered Ayame to Kioko.

"Even though it's over and done with, he's still beating himself up over it," she replied. "It's not like him."

"Do you think he'll ever get over it?" asked Ren.

"Who knows; it was pretty nasty."

"Hey guys," piped in Hanae, "I don't think that's very nice to Daichi. He didn't mean for that to happen; it was an accident."

"Let's not forget that he was doing it for our sake as well," said Labramon. "He only wanted to unlock his power so that he could help save the Digital World." The other Digimon nodded in agreement.

"So are you guys actually here to save the Digital World?" asked Gotsumon.

"That is the reason why we were brought here," replied Seiichi. "Although there are still many things we don't understand about our role."

"Well; you saved me from those Golemon, so you've got my support."

Ren walked up to Daichi, who had been walking a little farther ahead of the rest of the group with Dracomon. Daichi had been keeping his head down but looked up when Ren placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You can't keep blaming yourself for what happened to Dracomon," he said.

"Why not, it is my fault," replied Daichi.

"Whether it's your fault or not doesn't matter," added Dracomon. "It's over now and you should get your mind off of it."

"But my actions nearly turned you into a monster. I don't know if I could forgive myself if you had gotten hurt."

"I'm fine now though. Even if I did get hurt I'd forgive you. We are partners after all."

"Everyone makes mistakes," said Seiichi, joining Ren beside Daichi. "We have to move on from those mistakes and learn from them. That's how we get stronger."

Daichi simply shook his head. Before they got a chance to talk further a violent gust of wind blew past them. It whipped a large amount of sand around the group.

"This isn't good," called Gotsumon, "there's a big sandstorm coming."

"What should we do?" asked Kioko.

"We need to find shelter, and fast," replied Ayame.

"But this is just one big flat desert, where are we gonna find shelter?"

"You guys were lucky to have saved me; I know of some ruins around here that should be safe until the storm blows over."

"Thanks Gotsumon," said Hanae, hugging him.

"It's the least I can do. Now hurry before it picks up."

Gotsumon lead the group to an area strewn with broken stone blocks. It looked as though there had once been a desert city there, a long time before. The winds began to pick up as the children navigated through the broken stones. Eventually they found a building that was still intact and scurried inside. Sand still blew in through the open doorway, but for the most part they were sheltered.

"That was close," muttered Ayame.

"Thanks again Gotsumon," said Hanae.

"It was my pleasure. Plus it's only fair, since you guys saved me."

"How long do these storms usually last?"

"A couple hours normally. Fortunately, they don't come around very often. Conditions here in the desert usually stay pretty stagnant."

When they had entered the building, Daichi had gone off to a corner with Dracomon following him. The others observed the two of them as they separated themselves from the group. Ren was about to go over and talk to him when Commandramon tugged on his arm.

"There's someone else in here," he said. "I can hear movements in the next room."

"Do you know if it's hostile?"

"No not yet, but I can tell that it's not very big."

"You go check it out; I'll let the others know."

"Right," said Commandramon, slowly walking towards the other room.

"Hey Ren, where's Commandramon going," asked Ayame, walking up to him.

"He says there's someone else in here with us. He doesn't know if they're friend or foe yet."

"I hope their friendly; this wouldn't be a good time or place for a fight."

Commandramon reached the doorway to the other room. "Who's in there," he called into the room.

"Is there someone else there?" called back a female voice.

The children and their Digimon all looked to the doorway as Commandramon backed away from it. Walking through the doorway was a woman with long silver hair wearing a red dress. She wore a pair of purple gloves with a web pattern on them and a pair of red tinted sunglasses. At the sight of Commandramon she raised her hands slightly and stepped back from him.

"It's alright Commandramon," called Ren, "I don't think she's an enemy."

"Alright then," he replied, walking back over to Ren.

"You gave me quite a fright," said the woman. "I would have never expected to find anyone else out here, especially during a storm."

"Who are you?" asked Ayame. "We were told that there were no other humans here in the Digital World."

"I'm not a human, I'm Arukenimon."

"Oh. You just looked a lot like one, that's all."

"I thought humans were a myth for the longest time, so I never really knew what one looked like."

"Does that mean you actually know about humans?"

"Well; I don't know too much, but I've heard rumours. Wait, does that mean you guys are humans?!"

"Yes we are." replied Kioko. She then indicated D'arcmon, "except for D'arcmon here, she just looks the part, like you."

"Then perhaps you are the ones rumours tell of."

"What rumours?" asked Seiichi.

"I heard tell that a group of humans had somehow come to the Digital World. You can imagine my surprise at hearing this, since I didn't know they actually existed."

"We most certainly can," said Evan, remembering all the times they had been regarded as something out of a fairy tale.

"The rumour also said that these humans had a strange power. Supposedly this power could heal and strengthen Digimon."

"Well; it's something like that."

"Then, perhaps you can help me. I came out here following the rumours of the humans because I thought it might be the only way."

"What exactly is your problem?"

"A friend of mine has been infected with a terrible virus. Nothing I've tried has managed to cure him. I was desperate enough to chase after a rumour, but it seems as though fortune has favoured me."

"What exactly is it you want us to do?"

"I was hoping that the power you possess would be able to cure my friend of this virus."

"I'm not sure," replied Seiichi, "we still have an important task to fulfill."

"I think we should help her friend," said Hanae. "She came all this way looking just for us, so it would be rude to tell her we can't help.

"Remember that time is a huge factor against us right now. It might take us off our desired path if we were to aide her."

"I disagree," piped in Kioko. "We're here to save the Digital World, so I think helping its inhabitants is included in our job description."

"I agree with Hanae," added Evan. "It's just not right to ignore someone who's asking for help."

"C'mon Seiichi, don't be such a stiff," chided Coronamon.

The other children nodded their agreement with Hanae.

"Alright then, let's go for it."

"Then you'll help? Thank you so much."

"You came to the right people," said Gotsumon. "They were able to help me out, so they'll surely be able to help your friend too."

"This is wonderful. Actually, my friend isn't that far from here, so we should be able to go as soon as this storm lets up."

Once the sandstorm finally died down, the group followed Arukenimon out of the ruins. Daichi and Dracomon followed from the rear. After about fifteen minutes of walking Arukenimon indicated her friend, who was lying in the sand. From what the children could see it was a Kuwagamon, but it was discoloured. Its skin was pale grey instead of orange. The children assumed that this was due to the virus Arukenimon had mentioned.

The children approached the insect and pulled out their Digivices. Labramon's ears perked up when he heard a faint sound. He leapt at Hanae and shoved her to the ground just as a gigantic spider web sprang up around the group. The web was followed shortly by another, pinning the other members of the group. Daichi witnessed this from his rear position and ran up to Hanae.

"What is this?" he asked rhetorically.

"Curses, I missed two of the brats," said Arukenimon, glaring at Daichi and Hanae. "No matter, you should be easy enough to deal with."

The giant grey beetle rose up from the sand and roared at the trapped children. This beetle was clearly not a Kuwagamon. Instead of a single set of arms and legs, this beetle had two of each. The pincers on his head were longer than Kuwagamon's, and he also had an additional pair on each hand. Daichi scanned the new enemy, yielding 'Okuwamon', 'Ultimate', 'Virus', and 'Ultra Scissors Claw'.

Hanae looked worriedly at Arukenimon; "What's going on?"

At that moment Arukenimon's shaped began to change. Her new form bore little resemblance to the humanoid one she had been assuming up to this point. She now resembled a large spider with a round body and six legs. Above the waist she hadn't changed as much, save for the horns on her head and the width of her hands. Each hand now also bore a jewel marked with the shape of a web.

"I was hoping to catch all of you at once and avoid a fight, but two of you should be easy enough to handle."

"Not if I can help it," exclaimed Dracomon,

Dracomon immediately evolved into Coredramon and charged at Okuwamon. He was able to knock Okuwamon back with his first charge, but it quickly stabilized itself and struck back with the claws on its forearms. Coredramon roared 'Flare Blast', and bathed Okuwamon in blue fire. It winced away from the heat, but then punched Coredramon hard, throwing him backwards.

Hanae held out her Digivice and Labramon evolved into Dobermon. He snarled at Arukenimon and then lunged at her, calling out 'Panzer Claw'. Arukenimon smirked and responded with 'Spider Thread'. A whip like thread grew out of her hand and wrapped around Dobermon. She then used that thread to throw him to the ground.

"You can't hope to beat us like that," she taunted. "Be a good little girl and give yourself up."

Arukenimon then scuttled over to Hanae and picked her up, holding her in front of Dobermon. Hanae struggled, but was unable to break Arukenimon's grip. Dobermon growled at her, but didn't move for fear of hurting Hanae. Daichi ground his teeth in frustration after watching how easily Coredramon and Dobermon had been felled. He wished there was something he could do. He felt so powerless.

"Daichi," called Coredramon, attempting to get to his feet. "You have to try and make me evolve again."

Daichi was shocked to hear this from Coredramon in light of what had happened. "I don't think that's a good idea. Last time I tried that you nearly got killed."

"I'm not sure how much of a good idea it is either, but right now we don't have any other options. Our friends are in trouble and we're the only ones who can help."

"But what if you get hurt again?"

"I'm willing to risk it. Our friends are counting on us. What happened to the Daichi who never gives up?"

Daichi was momentarily speechless. He then shook his head violently, trying to snap himself out of his slump. "You're right," he called, "I can't afford to let our friends down. Not only that, but the whole Digital World would be in trouble if anything happens to them. I pushed you too hard before and I'm sorry. This time is different though; this time, it's for our friends."

Daichi's Digivice gave off a brilliant blue light. Looking at the screen Daichi saw a single word written in kanji: 'Diligence'. The word was flashing above the third button on the Digivice. He also noticed that the port on the bottom was open. Daichi knew what he had to do…

**Revision Notes: **I can't believe this one myself. I forgot to include a description for Okuwamon the first time around, other than saying he was different from Kuwagamon. Fortunately, that has been fixed. There were also a few dialogue extensions, but not much else to speak of.


	15. Breaking the Limits

Chapter 14: Breaking the Limits

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

Arukenimon smirked at Daichi and Dobermon, both of whom weren't making any moves to stop her. "This should appease Lady Lilithmon," she said to herself before addressing the others. "I'm afraid there's nothing you can do to stop me now. Be good little children and come quietly. If you don't, who knows what might happen." She gave a glance to Okuwamon who stood menacingly over the captured children and Digimon.

While she was gloating, Arukenimon hadn't been paying attention to the conversation between Daichi and Coredramon. Her attention was gained the bright blue light emitted by Daichi's Digivice. She turned away from the captive children and gazed at him in confusion.

"Oh yes there is," said Daichi. "I'll give you a chance to surrender first though, since you were nice enough to offer us one."

"Don't be ridiculous," she retorted, "we have you greatly overpowered. Don't think you can scare me with some silly light show."

"Well I was just trying to be fair. Guess we have to do this the hard way." Daichi then held out his Digivice to Coredramon, who was still on the ground. He pointed the port on the bottom directly at Coredramon. He pressed the Digivice's third button while calling out; "Evolution Limit…BREAK!"

An intense beam of blue light shot out from the port and engulfed Coredramon. 'COREDRAMON SUPER EVOLUTION!' he roared. The field of light around Coredramon became a sphere and expanded. After a short time the sphere dissolved, and Coredramon's true evolved form was revealed; 'WINGDRAMON!'

Wingdramon had the same blue coloured scales as Coredramon but now had a metal mask over his face. Both his tail and wings had greatly increased in size, and there now appeared to be a jet engine attached to his wings. A wing like fringe had appeared at his elbows and another metal plate covered part of his chest.

Wingdramon roared and rammed into Okuwamon, knocking him to the ground. He then took up a position between Okuwamon and the web in which the group was trapped. Okuwamon roared and pushed off the ground with its hind legs, kicking Wingdramon with its front ones. He was pushed back, but managed to retain his balance. Okuwamon ran towards him, pincers bared.

"You can't beat Okuwamon if you're only reaching Ultimate for the first time," taunted Arukenimon. "You might want to call your buddy off, before mine gives him a severe beating."

"I think you're worried," countered Daichi. "If you weren't you'd just let Okuwamon's strength speak for itself."

Arukenimon sneered at Daichi. "Impudent little brat, you'll regret that."

Okuwamon pinned Wingdramon to the ground with the pincers on his arms. Wingdramon didn't look worried though. Instead, he roared and the engine on his back flared to life. He jetted across the sand, dragging Okuwamon with him. Once they were far enough away from the children, he knocked Okuwamon off of him with his tail and took off into the air.

"What are you doing you moron," called Arukenimon, "after him!"

Okuwamon roared and flew into the air after Wingdramon. When it reached the same altitude, it charged at the great blue dragon. He gave another sly smirk, after which his image blurred. As Okuwamon reached the location where he had been, it stopped, confused as to where he had gone. He then appeared behind it and struck it hard with his tail, knocking it to the ground.

Okuwamon flew up towards Wingdramon again, but again ended up striking nothing but an after image. He proceeded to toy with it by repeating this several times, before slashing its wings off with a blade on the tip of his tail. Okuwamon plummeted to the ground; the resulting crash burying half of him in the sand.

Okuwamon scratched at the sand with its free claw, trying to pull itself out. When it couldn't pull itself free it screamed loudly and began flailing. Wingdramon descended to where it had crashed and used his engine to hover there. The great beetle screeched even louder than before, and looked desperately at Arukenimon.

Wingdramon opened his mouth and roared 'Sonic Blaze'! A stream of intense blue flames shot from his mouth, accompanied by a deafening bang which indicated the breaking of the sound barrier. The flames and their accompanying shockwave tore what was visible of Okuwamon apart, and baked the nearby sand into glass. A stream of data flew from the ground, presumably the deletion of Okuwamon's remnants.

Wingdramon roared triumphantly and flew back over to the group. He landed next to Daichi and towered over Arukenimon. She looked absolutely terrified at first, but then put on a devious smirk. The great dragon eyed the spider warily.

"I wouldn't get any closer if I were you," she said, raising her other hand to Hanae's throat. "One slip and your little friend here might have trouble breathing."

Wingdramon snarled at Arukenimon and took a step forward. Before he went any farther, Daichi held out a hand in front of him.

"We'll have to do what she says for now," he said. "We can't let Hanae get hurt."

"I know," replied Wingdramon, stepping back. He was bathed in blue light again and turned back into Coredramon. Despite his degeneration, he was still much larger than Arukenimon.

"Now, be a good boy and lay down with your hands on your head." Daichi did as she said, and indicated for Coredramon to do the same.

"I won't let you hurt her," called Dobermon, who leapt at Arukenimon again. Arukenimon just smirked and struck him with a whip like thread again.

"Such a bad doggie," she taunted. "I think we'll have to put you down." She then struck Dobermon several more times with her whip.

"No, Dobermon get away," yelled Hanae.

Arukenimon moved her head closer to Hanae's and whispered in her ear; "Bet you're not so happy you wanted to help me now, are you?"

'That's not true," replied Hanae, "if you were really in need of help then I still would have helped you." Her statement puzzled Arukenimon. "But you lied to us; you didn't really need our help."

"Of course not, I just wanted to make it easier to capture all of you. You shouldn't be so quick to trust people."

"Maybe you're right, but that doesn't mean I should stop helping people. I just have to be more careful from now on so that I don't get tricked by bad people like you!"

At those words Hanae's Digivice erupted with a bright yellow light. Arukenimon had to shield her eyes from it and dropped Hanae as a result. Arukenimon backed away from Hanae as she ran over to Dobermon. He stood up as she approached, rejuvenated by the light. He jumped out in front of her and snarled at Arukenimon. When they saw the light both Daichi and Coredramon stood up. Hanae looked down at her Digivice and saw the word 'Generosity' flashing on the screen.

"Hanae," Daichi called to her, "do what I did before!"

Hanae nodded and held out her Digivice in the same way Daichi had. She pressed the third button and called out 'Evolution Limit…BREAK!'

A beam of bright yellow light shot out from the port of her Digivice and engulfed Dobermon. 'DOBERMON SUPER EVOLUTION!' he howled, as he was enveloped by a sphere of yellow light identical to the blue one that had been around Coredramon. The sphere faded and his ultimate form emerged; 'CERBERUMON!'

Cerberumon wasn't much larger than Dobermon, but his black skin now seemed more like armour than fur. Overtop of his front legs were two shoulder pads that looked like additional heads with eyes, ears and fangs. His tail had grown longer and in addition to his normal claws, there were now a triad of claw like blades on top of each foot.

Coredramon took a step towards Arukenimon, but Cerberumon jumped out in front of him. "Leave her to me," he said. "You go free the rest of the group."

"She's all yours," replied Coredramon before turning towards the other children. He slashed at the webs over the children while Daichi pulled away the torn threads.

"Great job Daichi," said Ren, brushing some loose threads off his clothes.

"We knew you could do it," added Evan, patting him on the back.

"It's not over just yet," he replied, looking back to Cerberumon and Arukenimon.

Arukenimon had backed away from Cerberumon right after his evolution, but after Coredramon left she began staring him down. "Don't think I'll be as easy to defeat as Okuwamon," she said confidently. "He was just a stupid drone anyways."

"That is irrelevant; I'm going to destroy you for threatening Hanae."

"Go ahead and try!"

Cerberumon charged at Arukenimon, growling fiercely. She shot several whips out of her hands and ensnared his front legs. It didn't last long though, as he cut through the threads easily with his claw blades. He then leapt at Arukenimon, who spat a green mist from her mouth. The acidic mist caught Cerberumon off guard and he fell to the ground wincing. The grotesque spider scuttled up to the felled dog and prepared to strike. Before she could, D'arcmon appeared behind her and grabbed her arms, holding them behind her back.

"Let go of me at once," she yelled, lashing at D'arcmon with her whips. D'arcmon was thrown off, but Arukenimon's attention was called back to Cerberumon when he howled at her.

Cerberumon opened his mouth wide and a green ball of fire appeared. His two other 'heads' opened their mouths as well, which also contained green fireballs. 'Emerald Blaze' he called, shooting off all three fireballs at Arukenimon. She screamed as the three green flames struck her at once, resulting in a large explosion. When the smoke from the explosion cleared all that could be seen were a pair of red tinted sunglasses, which dissolved shortly after.

Cerberumon walked over to D'arcmon, who was just getting back on her feet. "Thank you," he said, "I might have gotten off much worse if you hadn't stalled her."

"No problem," she replied, "you were great yourself."

Kioko and Ayame both ran up to Hanae. Kioko hugged her while Ayame tousled her hair.

"You did great," said Kioko.

"Yeah without you we would have been in big trouble," added Ayame.

"You don't have to thank me," replied Hanae, "after all, friends help each other."

"I couldn't agree more," said Daichi, joining the girls, followed shortly by the rest of the group.

Cerberumon degenerated to Dobermon and stood next to Hanae. She hugged him and patted his head. "Good doggie," she said jokingly.

Dobermon chuckled and licked her face. "I owe my strength to you," he said, "and I'll use that strength to make sure you stay safe."

Seiichi looked out at the sun, which was now drawing close to the horizon. "It's getting kind of late," he said. "Why don't we head back to those ruins and get some rest."

"I would agree with you," said Evan, "but I lost track of where they were during the fight."

"Don't worry," piped in Gotsumon. "I've been there so many times that I know how to get there from just about anywhere in the desert." He then led the children in the direction of the ruins as the sun set behind them.

**Authors Notes: **Just so you know I'll be going through the Ultimate level evolutions fairly quickly. This is only because the following arcs involving Mega evolutions and the battles with the Demon Lords are much more important and deserve to have more time spent on them.

**Revision Notes: **Not much to take note of here, just a few paragraphing fixes and descriptive padding.


	16. Shallow Victory

Chapter 15: A Shallow Victory

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

Thanks to the defeat of Arukenimon and Okuwamon, Daichi had returned to his usual self. After resting in the ruins for the night, the group had resumed traveling. During the day's travels, Coredramon and Dobermon spoke with the other Digimon about their experiences evolving to the Ultimate level. Hanae and Daichi also spoke with the other children about what had caused their partners to evolve.

"So in both of your cases," said Seiichi, "the name of your virtue flashed on the screen of your Digivice and you pressed the third button."

"Yeah, there was also this port on the bottom that shot out the beam of light," added Daichi.

"It was really pretty," commented Hanae.

Seiichi looked at the bottom of his Digivice, but saw no port. "Maybe it only shows up when the strength of your virtue is being shown."

"Mine's still here," said Daichi, showing the open port on his Digivice.

"Mine too," added Hanae, showing hers.

"Then maybe it shows up for the first time when the virtue is unleashed," proposed Kioko. "Then after that, it stays around all the time."

"Well then what about yours?" asked Evan. "You were technically the first of us to unleash their virtue. That's why D'arcmon never degenerated into Elecmon."

"He may be right," said D'arcmon, "check your Digivice."

Kioko turned over her Digivice and, surely enough, the port on the bottom was open. "Yup it's there. I don't know how I missed it before."

"So that means that I should be able to evolve to the Ultimate level as well."

"I guess so; I just never noticed it before. Should we give it a try now?"

"I think it would be best to conserve such strength for when it is needed."

"Hey guys," called Gotsumon, "if it's of any interest to you, we're getting close to a river. It's the only major source of water in this part of the Desert Area."

"That would be a nice change of pace," said Betamon. "I hate this hot dry weather."

"If it's the only major source of water here then we should definitely go," added Seiichi. "We don't know how much longer we'll be traveling through this desert so we should stock up on water while we can."

"Maybe we can go for a swim while we're there," proposed Evan.

"That might not be the best idea," commented Gotsumon. "The river is wide and deep. It also has a really strong current."

"Still, I think it's unanimous," said Ayame, "we're gonna head for the river."

"Okay then, I'll show you the way."

When they reached the river the children were astonished by its scale. It stretched out in either direction far beyond what the eye could see. It was also quite wide, at least a couple miles. If what Gotsumon had said was true, then its depth would be equally astonishing. The river did not seem violent at first, but Evan could see differently. Since there was nothing for the water to break against, it appeared smooth, but the edges of the river were white with foam.

"I don't think it would have been possible for us to avoid this thing," said Daichi, staring at the river.

"How does something like this appear in the middle of a desert?"

"Remember what Wizardmon told us before; weird stuff like this is common in the Digital World."

"Man, it's too bad the current is so strong," complain Betamon. "I would have really liked to go for a dip."

"Me too Betamon," said Evan, "but it looks like we'll have to make due with just being near it."

Seiichi and Ayame collected the bottles they had emptied while traveling through the desert. It turned out they had drank more than they thought, probably to combat the desert's heat. "It's a good thing we decided to stop here; we might have run out of water otherwise," he said

"How's our food supply?" asked Ayame

"Still pretty good, even though it's a bit less than it should have been originally."

"Why is it less than what it should be?"

"Gotsumon had to eat too," answered Kioko. "I didn't think it would be fair to not share with him after we rescued him."

"Sorry for the trouble," said Gotsumon, his head drooping.

"Don't worry, once we get out of the desert we should have an easier time finding food. It shouldn't really be a problem," said Ren, patting Gotsumon on the back.

"The only problem now is getting past this river."

"What should we do if we can't swim across?"

"Remember that D'arcmon and I can fly," pointed out Coredramon. "We should be able to lift you across one or two at a time."

"You might have to do more lifting than me," joked D'arcmon, "seeing as how you're bigger than I am." Everyone laughed at this, except for Coredramon. He grunted, knowing she was right.

"Well if we can't go swimming there's not much point in sticking around here," said Daichi. "Let's get going."

Coredramon picked up Daichi, Ren and Commandramon for his first trip across the river. D'arcmon grasped Kioko from behind and hovered next to Coredramon. The two took off together across the river. They progressed fairly slowly in order to make sure their passengers didn't fall off.

Betamon felt a chill down his spine and then turned to Evan; "There's something here. It feels really weird."

"What it is?"

"I don't know but it feels like… me."

The answer to Evan's question came in the form of a black bolt of lightning shooting out from beneath the water. Both D'arcmon and Coredramon swerved in midair to avoid the lightning, nearly dropping their passengers. When several more bolts flew out of the water, Coredramon and D'arcmon dove towards the farther shore, setting down their passengers. They then turned back to the river and saw what had attacked them.

A large sea serpent rose out of the river and roared at the group. This serpent was strikingly similar to Seadramon, but its body was a pale red colour with a few stripes of green. On its head was a black mask with a golden spike jutting out of it. Evan was shocked by the new Digimon's resemblance to Seadramon and quickly pulled out his Digivice. The scan results were 'WaruSeadramon', 'Ultimate', 'Virus' and 'Black Thunder'. WaruSeadramon let out a roar and looked down on the rest of the group.

"Foolish humans," he said, "you have chosen to oppose the Demon Lords and have thusly sealed your doom! I have been sent by Lord Leviamon to ensure that you are destroyed."

"Wanna bet?" roared Coredramon, jumping into the air above the river. He was followed shortly by D'arcmon. He unleashed his 'Flare Blast' and she used her 'Bapteme D'amour'. WaruSeadramon dove beneath the surface of the river, where both attacks impacted harmlessly. More black lightning bolts forced them back to the shore.

"Hey Kioko, I think you're gonna get your chance to try out Ultimate level," said Daichi, holding up his Digivice.

"Only if you're ready for it D'arcmon," replied Kioko.

"Hold on a moment," stated D'arcmon, holding a hand out in front of Kioko. "The resemblance of that thing to Seadramon is rather uncanny don't you think?"

"What's that suppose to… wait; you mean that thing is Betamon's missing data?"

"I think so, but there's also some evil power bolstering it. However; if it is indeed his data, then this is not our fight."

Back on the other side of the river, Betamon had come to a similar conclusion; "I know for sure now, that thing has my data!"

"So if we beat that thing we should be able to get your data back from it."

"That's right, so what are we waiting for?"

"You can't evolve though, how are we supposed to beat it?"

"I think I can now. Even though it's not inside me, my data is nearby and that might be good enough. We have nothing to lose by trying right?"

"Alright then, but be careful." Evan then held out his Digivice while Betamon ran towards the river. At first all it did was shoot out a few sparks, but as Betamon drew closer to the river the sparks ceased. The Digivice then began to flash properly and bathed Betamon in the light of evolution.

Betamon dove into the water and when he emerged at the surface he had become Seadramon again. Seadramon roared once before diving back beneath the surface. Under the water Seadramon swam at WaruSeadramon, who simply laughed in response.

"So you're the one whose data I was made from, interesting."

"I'm only here to take back what's mine."

"That's not going to happen. Not only are you merely a Champion level Digimon, but you're also incomplete. My power comes directly from one of the Demon Lords and it more than makes up for the fact that only a sample of your data was used."

"We'll see about that."

Seadramon then charged at WaruSeadramon. Despite being the larger of the two, the dark serpent was also the faster. He easily dove beneath his smaller opponent as he was charging and rammed him from underneath. Seadramon smiled and wrapped part of himself around WaruSeadramon's neck. He then looked the dark serpent square in the face and called out 'Ice Blast'!

The stream of ice that shot from Seadramon's mouth completely encased WaruSeadramon's head. He then began to sink as Seadramon released his neck. His horn glowed black and a lightning bolt shattered the ice around his face.

"That was rather rude," he taunted. "I think I'll have to return the favour."

WaruSeadramon called out 'Poison Ice', shooting a stream of purple coloured icicles at Seadramon. The smaller serpent was completely frozen in a block of purple ice. WaruSeadramon sneered and wrapped his tail around the block of ice. He then swam back to the surface and threw the block of ice onto the shore. He laughed malevolently before diving back below the water.

Evan ran up to the frozen Seadramon, tears welling up in his eyes. "Seadramon, this is all my fault. I shouldn't have let you fight that thing when you were injured." A deep red light shone out from Evan's Digivice and the ice around Seadramon shattered.

"It's not your fault," he said weakly, "I was the one who was crazy enough to try and fight him on my own. You let me go because you wanted to get my data back too."

"I know, but I could have let one of the others handle it. They might have been powerful enough to do it."

"You're wrong for two reasons. First off, none of the others can fight underwater and they would have been at a huge disadvantage. Secondly, Shakkoumon said we had to do this for ourselves."

"That doesn't mean we have to be completely reckless. You're right though; let's do it."

The red light coming from Evan's Digivice shone brighter and the word 'Kindness' appeared on the screen, this time in English letter instead of Kanji. Evan pointed the newly opened port on his Digivice at Seadramon and pressed the third button. He then called out as the others had; 'Evolution Limit… BREAK!'

The stream of red light that shot from the port formed a sphere around Seadramon. 'SEADRAMON SUPER EVOLUTION!' he called out. The sphere rose off the ground and moved above the river. He dove out of the sphere into the water while declaring 'MEGASEADRAMON!'

Underneath the rivers surface, WaruSeadramon prepared to attack again, but stopped when he saw something swimming towards him. He was shocked to see that it was almost a mirror image of him. The only differences were that the stripes along his body were blue and the mask on his face was gold with a silver spike.

"Impossible," he remarked, "Leviamon told me that you would not be able to evolve while your data was incomplete."

"Guess you shouldn't have underestimated me."

"It matters not; you will die all the same."

WaruSeadramon unleashed another wave of 'Poison Ice' at Megaseadramon. He simply stood there and watched the ice come. When it was just about to hit him he called out 'Thunder Javelin' which caused a blue bolt of lightning to shoot from his horn. The lightning tore through the chunks of ice and struck the dark serpent directly on his horn.

WaruSeadramon shrieked in pain as his horn conducted the lightning through his body. He attempted to aim his horn at Megaseadramon in order to achieve the same effect. Before he could unleash his attack, another blue bolt struck his horn. His visage began to fizzle as his data started to lose coherency. A third bolt finished the job and his data broke apart completely.

Megaseadramon returned to the surface and roared triumphantly. Although most of WaruSeadramon's data had dispersed, a small portion remained. That portion was then drawn into his body, causing him to shimmer briefly. He swam back to the river's shore as he started to glow. He degenerated back into Betamon and ran up to Evan, leaping into his arms.

"Great job Betamon," said Evan, hugging his partner.

"Thanks, but I couldn't have done it without you."

"Something seems off though. How come you didn't stay at the champion level like the others?"

"I'm not sure. Oh well, it would have been a pain to travel as Seadramon through a desert anyways. Plus I got my data back, and that's the most important thing."

"If you guys are finished, we should get moving again," called Seiichi, running up to Evan with the rest of the group.

Coredramon descended into their midst; "All aboard." After two more trips he had brought everyone else across the river. They then set off again, accompanied by a much livelier Betamon.

**Authors Notes: **I know I said that the river had a really strong current. Keep in mind that the Seadramon are all large, water based Digimon and have no problem with anything less than a hurricane force current.

**Revision Notes: **I fixed some of the parts of the fight so that it's easier to tell which Seadramon is taking which actions. I also added a bit more description and fixed some paragraphing issues.


	17. Troubled Times

Chapter 16: Troubled Times

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

The white walls that lined the room were broken only by a single window and the door. In the middle of the room there was a bed with several complicated looking machines next to it. A young boy was standing next to the bed, holding the hand of the bed's occupant. The girl in the bed and the boy next to it both had black hair and green eyes. One of the machines next to the bed was connected to a breathing mask over the girl's face.

"Thanks for coming to see me again big brother," said the girl. Her voice was hoarse and frail.

"Don't mention it Chie," replied the boy. "I'll visit you as often as I can until you get better."

"How are mom and dad?"

"They're doing okay; they're going to come visit you as soon as they get off work."

Chie coughed before speaking again; "You know Takeshi, you really shouldn't be coming all this way on your own just to visit me."

"Mom and dad gave me permission to come by bus today because they couldn't."

"Well; if they said it was okay, then I guess I won't get mad."

"No, I suspect you'll be getting mad for entirely different reasons."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'm referring to the fact that you're going to have to make up for a lot of schoolwork when you get out of here."

Chie laughed for a moment before going into a coughing fit. Takeshi looked away from her while she coughed. He hated seeing her like this, since before she had fallen ill she had always been so cheerful. When she first fell ill it hadn't seemed that bad, but she had steadily gotten worse. When she stopped coughing he tried to make conversation again.

"So, how are the doctors treating you?"

"They're nice, but I still don't like taking the medicine. The needles aren't any fun either. There's also a really nice nurse who reads to me before bed."

"Well just make sure you do everything the doctor says; it'll help you get better."

"I know, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

Takeshi chuckled weakly. A knock came at the door as a doctor entered the room; "Hello I'm Dr. Jones, I'm here to run some tests on Chie Umeko."

"That's me," she said, raising her arm feebly.

"I'll just step outside then," said Takeshi, walking out of the room as Jones entered, closing the door behind him.

Takeshi waited outside the room the entire time the doctor was inside. After the better part of an hour the doctor emerged from the room, closing the door on his way out. He was shaking his head as he looked over some paper on a clipboard. Takeshi stood up to go back into Chie's room.

"I wouldn't advise going back in right now," said Jones. "The tests I had to run were a bit tiring, so she's gone to sleep for now. She'll probably stay asleep for the next while."

"Oh well I guess I'll come back later then." The doctor turned to leave, but Takeshi caught his sleeve. "Um, Doctor Jones, how long do you think it will be before Chie gets better? Please be honest with me, I just want to know."

The doctor stopped and turned to face Takeshi. The look on his face was quite grim. "I don't know; she's very sick."

"Can you tell me what's wrong with her?"

"I'll try, but I'm not sure how much you'll be able to understand. Do you know anything about DNA?"

"A little; they're like chain links of information that determine what features people will have when they grow up right?"

"That's a good way of putting it. Chie is sick because one of those 'links' is missing from her chain. With an incomplete chain her body is losing the ability to function."

"Do you think you'll be able to find the link that's missing?"

The doctor shook his head, "I'm afraid it's not that simple. Even if we were able to determine which genome, err, link was missing; we just don't have the tools to repair it."

"Will she ever be able to recover on her own?"

The doctor's head drooped. "It pains me to have to tell you this but I don't think she'll be able to make it. All we can really do now is make sure she's comfortable."

Takeshi was rendered speechless. Chie was going to die and there was nothing the doctors could do to help. Tears welled up in his eyes. He covered his eyes to hide the tears from the doctor and then ran down the main hall and out of the hospital. The doctor reached out a hand towards him, but lowered it and sighed before turning away and walking down the hall.

Once outside, Takeshi ran to the small garden area in front of the hospital. Tears were now streaming down his face and he was sobbing heavily. He sat on one of the garden's benches and rubbed his eyes as more tears came. Several minutes passed before his tears began to dry up.

As his tears began to dry, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. To him it appeared as though there was a hole in the air. A figure with a flowing black robe stepped out of this hole. The figure also had black feathered wings and a helm that covered the upper half of his face. Takeshi stood up from the bench and backed away from the figure, but fell backwards.

Fellangemon stepped forward towards Takeshi and held out his hand; "Are you alright young man? I'm sorry if I startled you."

Takeshi was skeptical at first, but this man was obviously out of the ordinary. He took his hand and stood up. "I'm fine thank you. Who or what are you?"

"My name is Fellangemon, and as you have pointed out I am not human. May I ask your name?"

"It's Takeshi. If you're not human then what are you?"

"I come from a whole other world. I believe on your world my kind is commonly called an angel."

"Why would an angel come here?"

"I shall answer that question if you shall permit me one. When I first saw you, you looked quite troubled. May I ask what's wrong?"

"Oh… It's my little sister. She's in the hospital and the doctor said she's going to die. I'm really worried and I don't want to lose her."

"Such a tragic fate to befall those so young, it is indeed terrible. However, there may be a way to save her."

"Really, you can help her?"

"I shall now answer the question you asked earlier. I came to this world seeking a human; one of virtuous heart. You, my young friend, possess just such a heart."

"What do you want me for?"

"Long ago my lords fought a terrible war with a great enemy. Unfortunately they lost that war and were imprisoned. I was able to escape and acquire a powerful magic tool. In the hands of a virtuous human, this tool would be able to break the seal on my masters. If you were to aide my masters I'm sure that saving your sister would be well within their power."

"So you're saying if I help your masters, they'd be able to save Chie?"

"I am most certain that such a favour would be a small price in exchange for their freedom. So, will you help us?"

Takeshi thought about it briefly. The man seemed strange, but the doctors said they wouldn't be able to save Chie. This may be the only way to do it. Those wings and the fact that he just stepped through a hole in midair means he really is from another world. If that's true then maybe he, or rather his masters, really can save Chie.

"I'll do it," he said. "If it can save Chie, then it's my only option."

"You will? Excellent, you can have this," said Fellangemon, presenting the Digivice he had stolen to Takeshi. "This is the magic tool I mentioned. It will be able to take you to my world."

"Can't you just open up another hole like you did a minute ago?"

"I am afraid that is no longer possible. I traveled to this world by using up much of my own power. As such, I do not have enough strength to return. However; that device should be able to accomplish the task just as well."

"Okay, but how does it work?"

"It should activate at your touch. I can instruct you after that."

Takeshi pressed one of the buttons on the Digivice and it began to emit light. Writing appeared on the screen in a language he didn't know. Fellangemon looked at the screen and read the text to him. Takeshi pressed the Digivice's buttons in the same sequence that Holyangemon had before, as instruct by Fellangemon. A column of light erupted from the Digivice and enveloped the two. When the column, disappeared they were gone.

* * *

After crossing the river, the children had managed to avoid encountering any more enemies in the desert. Another day of hard travel had brought them to the edge of the desert. However; what lay before them was anything but desirable. The land beyond the desert, although not filled with sand, was just as barren. It was filled with dead trees and crumbling ruins.

"You guy's aren't actually planning on going that way are you?" asked Gotsumon.

"Why, what is that place?" asked Kioko.

"That's the Fringe; it borders the Dark Area. The evil of the Demon Lords and their servants that seeps out has rendered the land barren. There are many evil Digimon there and it is not a place any self respecting Digimon would want to go."

"There is indeed a great evil coming from within that land," said D'arcmon. "Its magnitude is far beyond anything we've encountered before."

"Then that must really be where the Demon Lords are," said Ayame.

"Well then it's obvious where we're going," stated Daichi.

"Didn't you hear what I just said? Only Digimon with a deletion wish would go in there."

"We were called here to save the Digital world, remember? If we don't go in there and face that evil, then who will?"

"I'm with Daichi," said Seiichi. "If we are going to save this world, then we have to defeat the Demon Lords. Now that we've discovered the meaning behind what Shakkoumon said, it won't be long before we all obtain the power we need."

"If the Fringe is filled with the Demon Lords servants, then we'll just have to beat them too."

"Well; if you are going to go in there, then I'm afraid we'll have to part ways. You guys are strong so you might be able to survive, but I have no chance."

"Well it was nice of you to guide us this far Gotsumon," said Hanae, giving him a hug. "Thank you and good luck on your own."

With that Gotsumon wandered off on his own, back into the desert. The group then turned and looked at the grim landscape of the Fringe. As they approached it, they couldn't help but feel a shiver. A cold wind blew past them, whispering of darkness and evil. Crossing the border seemed to take a long time.

Once they had actually entered the Fringe the children's nerves seemed to calm a little. They hadn't been immediately attacked by supremely evil Digimon or any other of the nasty things Gotsumon had inferred. The children breathed a collective sigh of relief and began their venture into the Fringe.

**Authors Note: **Told you the boy would come back in a future chapter. As for his sick sister, I know it's probably a cliché but it worked well for what I intended to happen to Takeshi. As for her illness I'm not sure if something like that actually exists as I described it but keep in mind I was just trying to have a doctor explain a genetic disorder to a 12 year old

**Revision Notes: **I added a bit more detail to Chie's condition and fixed some grammar bugs. I really seem to not like using commas.


	18. Gathering Darkness

Chapter 17: The Gathering Darkness

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

The groups first day of travel through the Fringe had been surprisingly uneventful. Although Gotsumon had said the place was teeming with evil, so far it had been quite lifeless. The group had yet to encounter any living things at all, let alone evil Digimon. The closest thing to life around was uprooted, fallen or otherwise deceased trees. The Fringe was, in its entirety, a barren wasteland.

Despite the lack of life, the children had decided not to travel at night while in the Fringe as a cautionary measure. The end of their first day there had brought them to a collection of crumbling ruins that had once been a city. After finding a building that wasn't in danger of collapsing, the group set up for the night.

Coredramon was unable to fit inside the building, so he and Daichi stayed on the roof in order to keep watch through part of the night. The others moved to the second floor so that anyone else entering the building wouldn't find them right away. Commandramon and D'arcmon took up the task of guarding the second floor entrance in turns. Midway through the night Commandramon went to awaken D'arcmon so that she could resume the watch.

"Good evening Commandramon," she said, stretching. "Was your watch eventful?"

"Nah, this place is as much of a ghost town as it ever was," he replied.

"Well; at least that means the children will be safe."

"Do you still feel that strong evil from before?"

"Yes; the deeper we venture into this place, the stronger it becomes. I fear that when we reach it, we may not be strong enough to face it."

"What makes you say that?"

"I can tell from what I feel that the evil is being dampened by the barrier. Its real strength is far beyond what I can actually sense."

"Maybe the children have more power than they're letting on, or perhaps than they've realized they possess."

"We can only hope that is true. If it is not, then I fear we may not be able to succeed in this venture."

"How come you haven't told them these things yourself?"

"I am merely heeding what we were told by Shakkoumon; the children must discover their strength on their own."

"Well at least we know they're on the right track. Four of them have managed to unleash their virtues so far and we still have plenty of time so long as that barrier is up. I think they can do it."

"I believe in them as well. I only hope I am not deceiving myself."

"Well then if you don't mind I'd like to get some sleep."

D'arcmon was about to send him off, but then she felt a tingle in the back of her mind. "Wait; there is a lesser evil nearby. Be alert, it seems to be heading in this direction."

"Can you tell exactly how strong it is?"

"No, with the evil of the Demon Lords flooding my senses I cannot be specific. I can only tell that this power is far inferior to theirs. It draws closer as we speak."

"Well I think I may be able to do something about that." Commandramon pulled a small device out of his belt and placed it on the floor. The device opened up into something like a satellite dish with an antenna sticking out. He the placed an earpiece over his ear and listened carefully.

"With this gizmo, I'll be able to hear anything that comes into this building."

After a short while a conversation reached his ears from the floor below;

"What was with that dragon sleeping on the roof?" asked a female voice.

"Who knows, lots of weird stuff goes on out here. However, if it's smart it won't want to pick a fight with two of the Demon Lords servants," replied a hoarse voice.

"But you said that no one ever comes here."

"I said that almost no one ever comes here. Besides, if it causes any problems we'll just kill it and be on our way."

"Anyways, why did you call me here? Your reasoning had better be good."

"Haven't you noticed that something big is going on? The streak of light across the sky two weeks ago; the restlessness of the Demon Lords; these are all signs pointing to something big."

"Actually a few days ago Lady Lilithmon informed me that Arukenimon had perished and I was now her head vassal. Does this mean that someone is opposing the Demon Lords?"

"You are quite correct, my dear LadyDevimon. A group is opposing our Lords, a group consisting of Digimon and humans."

"Firstly, Skullsatamon, if you ever call me 'my dear' again, I'll kill you myself. Secondly, humans are just a myth."

"I would have agreed with you at first, but I heard from one of Barbamon's servants. He had a direct encounter with a human girl who had the power to make a Digimon evolve. He even had wounds to prove it."

"So, I do not see how it matters. There are none powerful enough to oppose our lords, you know this. What was the point of bringing me out here just to tell me that?"

"There is one more thing of importance to say. It is rumoured that our lords will be released from their prison soon."

"I have actually heard that rumour as well. Supposedly Fellangemon was sent to retrieve some kind of power that would break Seraphimon's final seal. If this is true, then soon there will be cause for celebration."

"I was actually hoping you would be willing to celebrate with me on that occasion."

LadyDevimon simply groaned in response. She made a noise as though she was about to start speaking, but then stopped. An instant later a large black hand tipped with red nails broke through the floor and wrapped itself around D'arcmon's throat. It then pulled her through the floor and held her right in front of the female demon.

LadyDevimon was, in appearance, quite similar to Devimon, save that only one of her arms was elongated. Her black leather clothing was tattered and she lacked a pair of wings. Next to her stood Skullsatamon, who was a red skeleton with black wings and a crooked staff. He chuckled cruelly, amused by LadyDevimon's catch.

"Looks like we have an eavesdropper," she said with a wicked smirk on her face. "I wonder how much you managed to overhear blondie."

"Hands off of her!" exclaimed Sealsdramon, jumping down from the floor above. In his arms he carried Kioko and Ren, who he set down upon his landing. Some of the other children and Digimon looked down through the hole.

"My word, there are actually humans here," said LadyDevimon. "What luck; we get to kill the ones who have been opposing the Demon Lords. Our reward shall be great."

"I'm afraid you won't be receiving it," shouted Sealsdramon as he charged at LadyDevimon with his knife. She floated backwards away from him, dropping D'arcmon as she did so. D'arcmon stood up next to Sealsdramon and drew her swords.

"Well at least this isn't going to be boring," LadyDevimon sneered.

"Ooh, dibs on the one with the knife," replied Skullsatamon.

"That'll be a choice you regret," stated Sealsdramon firmly.

The armoured Digimon then ran at Skullsatamon, brandishing his knife. Skullsatamon snickered and then made his move. He was fast enough to get behind Sealsdramon and deliver a painful wallop with his staff. Sealsdramon was then thrown across the room into the wall nearest Ren and Kioko.

"Be careful," shouted Ren, "they're both Ultimate level Digimon."

D'arcmon nodded and drew a cross with her swords and called out 'Bapteme D'amour'. The cross flew at LadyDevimon and knocked her out of the building. Skullsatamon charged Sealsdramon with his staff again. Sealsdramon slammed his knife into the wall above his head and hoisted himself upwards, allowing Skullsatamon to crash into the wall head on. He then swung downwards and kicked him through the wall.

LadyDevimon shook her head while standing up. The blow from D'arcmon had been stronger than what she expected. D'arcmon followed her out of the building and stood across from her. LadyDevimon sneered and raised her clawed hand. The red nails on that hand merged together into a single spike. She charged at D'arcmon, who caught the spike with her blades. The two began to grapple back and forth, with LadyDevimon slowly gaining ground over D'arcmon.

On the other side of the building Sealsdramon and Skullsatamon had also started exchanging volleys. Unfortunately Sealsdramon was the only one taking hits, as he simply could not keep up with Skullsatamon. He kept trying to get a lock on him with his mechanical eye so as to find a weak point, but Skullsatamon wouldn't hold still long enough. Sealsdramon's armour was beginning to crack from the repeated blows.

Inside the building Kioko and Ren watched the fights of their respective partners.

"This isn't going very well," she said, watching D'arcmon get knocked into the side of the building.

"I know," replied Ren, a piece of Sealsdramon's armour flying past his head. "We need to help them."

"I'm not sure that we can, they're both completely outmatched."

"Then we'll just have to give them the strength they need to fight back. I don't usually like to fight, but I'm willing to this time in order to protect something important."

"Well then I guess I'll have to fight too."

With their words, both of the children's Digivices began to glow brightly. Ren's emitted a bright green light while Kioko's light was purple. They looked at their Digivices, which bore the words 'Balance' and 'Humility' respectively. They held the ports out towards their partners and called out together: "Evolution Limit…BREAK!"

Just as LadyDevimon was about to impale D'arcmon with her spike, she was struck by the beam of purple light and enveloped by a sphere of the same colour. "D'ARCMON SUPER EVOLUTION!" she called out. "HIPPOGRYPHOMON!" She yelled, flying upwards out of the sphere. Hippogryphomon looked like an anthropomorphic eagle. She had pure white feathers with a few purple stripes on her arms and torso. Her hind legs sported nasty looking talons and her front legs were like three fingered hands, also bearing talons.

Sealsdramon slumped over as his armour began to fall off in chunks. Skullsatamon approached with his staff raised, ready to deliver the finishing blow. He was forced back by the sphere of light that consumed Sealsdramon. "SEALSDRAMON SUPER EVOLUTION," he shouted, invigorated by the light, "TANKDRAMON!" Tankdramon's name spoke for itself. He still looked like a reptile but his legs had been replaced by treads. Heavy armour covered his entire body and his hands now bore triads of sharp spikes. Numerous turrets jutted out from his body, two of them very large and two others bearing triple rotary barrels.

Skullsatamon looked at Tankdramon with interest, admiring his new arsenal. "That's fairly impressive," he said, jumping into the air, "but you still won't be able to catch me."

"I won't have to," replied Tankdramon, aiming all of his turrets towards Skullsatamon. He called out 'Gattling Assault' and began to fire out of every port on his body simultaneously. Skullsatamon jumped around in the air, attempting to avoid the great many projectiles flying at him. Despite his best efforts, he was struck numerous times and fell to the ground when his wings were shot full of holes.

After Hippogryphomon emerged from the sphere of light, LadyDevimon flew after her. The two flew above the roof of the building, past a startled Coredramon. They spiraled through the air well above the ground, almost dancing. When they stopped looping around each other LadyDevimon charged Hippogryphomon with her spike.

Hippogryphomon let out a screech and glared at LadyDevimon. She sharply yelled 'Sonic Boom', giving one powerful flap of her wings. LadyDevimon braced herself for the impact, but was unable to resist the shockwave. She was thrown down and backwards, ending up in the middle of Tankdramon's line of fire. She too fell to the ground after being shot repeatedly.

Both Skullsatamon and LadyDevimon twitched on the ground in a heap. They attempted to stand but were cut off by a roar from Wingdramon. 'Sonic Blaze' he called, unleashing his attack. The flames struck the pair, incinerating them both. Wingdramon then landed in the spot where the two had been previously. Hippogryphomon and Tankdramon met up next to him as Daichi leapt down from his shoulders. The three Digimon then degenerated to their respective champion stages.

Ren, Kioko and the others ran out and met up with them.

"Great job Sealsdramon," said Ren, patting him on the back.

"You did well too D'arcmon."

"Man I was having such a nice dream," butted in Daichi while yawning.

"You were supposed to be keeping watch, not taking a nap," snapped Ayame.

"Um, well… if I hadn't rested then Wingdramon wouldn't have had the energy to finish those two baddies off." The rest of the group laughed at Daichi. They stopped when Sealsdramon cleared his throat.

"I have some unfortunate news guys," he said firmly. "According to those two, Fellangemon is up to something. He's trying to find something that will break Seraphimon's barrier."

The group looked at Sealsdramon in shock.

"Damn," cursed Ayame, "if he actually succeeds we're gonna have a huge problem on our hands."

"Then we're just gonna have to stop him from succeeding," stated Seiichi.

"How do you propose we do that?"

"We can do it simply by staying on our present course. Even if he manages to find something that can break the seal he'll have to return to the Dark Area in order to use it. If we can reach the Dark Area border quickly then we can intercept him as he returns, and stop him from releasing them."

"Alright, but we should wait until morning," said Hanae. "The rest of us might be okay, but Sealsdramon and D'arcmon are going to need some time to rest."

"Alright, but we leave first thing in the morning."

**Author's Notes: **It's not a mistake that I said Wingdramon and not Coredramon as the one destroying LadyDevimon and Skullsatamon. Twice in this chapter (the other time being Sealsdramon jumping down from the second floor) I did evolutions while excluding the light show. I figured it would be redundant to continuously describe it. I imagine from this point forward all evolutions that have been performed before will not be described in detail. Just letting you readers know.

**Revision Notes: **I added a bit more to my descriptions of LadyDevimon and Skullsatamon. There wasn't as much grammar to fix this time around, since I think it was around here that my writing really started to improve.


	19. Thirst for Vengeance

Chapter 18: Thirst for Vengeance

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

The group was only able to rest for a couple hours before their restlessness over Fellangemon's plan got the better of them. The sun was just rising over the horizon as they set off from the ruined city. From that point onwards the Fringe seemed to suddenly become much less lifeless. As they made their way across the Fringe they saw many Digimon with bizarre or warped forms.

The defeat of Skullsatamon and LadyDevimon seemed to work in their favour, as none of the Digimon they encountered seemed willing to approach them. Sealsdramon had constantly been scouting for potentially hostile Digimon, but from what he heard many of the evil Digimon were fearful of them. Rumours traveled about their strength and how they had defeated many servants of the Demon Lords, or at least that's what Sealsdramon told them.

"Word seems to get around quickly here in the Digital World," commented Ayame. "It's been less than half a day and already the entire Fringe knows about us."

"We should be thankful for such hasted rumours," added Lunamon. "Without them we may have found ourselves under constant attack and unable to move forward so quickly."

"Yup we're pretty lucky to have that going for us," smirked Coronamon. "It'll make getting to the barrier before Fellangemon that much easier."

"The only problem is, we don't know what he'll be bringing with him," noted Seiichi. "Although it was my idea to try and get there before him, we should also be thinking of a plan of what to do when we get there."

"That's simple, we just have to beat him and take whatever thing he plans to use to break the barrier."

"I like the sound of that," piped in Daichi.

"We know that Fellangemon is strong, but the extent of his strength is debatable. It is true that he delivered the fatal blow to Seraphimon, a Mega Level. However; Seraphimon was weakened from a combination of holding up the barrier for eons and conjuring Dracomon."

"He didn't kill me," added Betamon. "Even though I was just a Champion when I went up against him, I managed to survive."

"He's an Ultimate level," stated Evan, "I scanned him when we were back at the lake. I didn't know what an Ultimate was at the time so I didn't say anything."

"Well then if that's the case we should be able to take him. If we all evolve to Ultimate we have him outnumbered seven to one."

"Numbers don't necessarily guarantee victory. Remember that when we fought those three Devimon, we had them five on three and still got beaten. At least until D'arcmon showed up."

"True, but like you said they were coordinating their movements. Seven on one is quite a bit different from five on three. It's hard to coordinate movements with no one else around."

"Yes, but we don't know that he'll be alone. There's nothing stopping him from having allies around when we confront him. We're only assuming he'll be alone because we haven't seen him fight with anyone else before."

"We're here to save the Digital World remember? We shouldn't be willing to let anything stop us, especially something as insignificant as the bad guys bringing a few friends to the party."

"I know we're going to have to fight regardless, I just think it would be a good idea to have some sort of plan for going about it."

"I don't really think there's anything to plan. We just have to go in there and show that we're stronger than our opponents."

"Yes, but will we really be strong enough?" asked Lunamon.

"Of course we will, don't talk like that," replied Coronamon, cuffing her on the back.

"I wonder about that," sounded a deep, menacing voice. The children looked around for the voice, but couldn't see anyone nearby. As their confusion set in a large, golden coloured claw burst out of the ground in front of them. This claw was shortly followed by a second just like it. The claws grabbed at the ground and hoisted their owner above the surface.

The children were shocked when they saw who had emerged from the ground. It was Devimon. At least, that's what they thought at first. After a moment of observation they noticed several things that had changed. The wings on his back were now red instead of black and there were spikes jutting out of his elbows and feet. In addition to his claws, the horns on his head were also golden, and were connected to a mask upon his face.

Daichi quickly pulled out his Digivice and scanned the new foe. He was met with the data 'NeoDevimon', 'Ultimate', 'Virus', and 'Guillotine Claw'. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"You should know very well why I'm here," stated NeoDevimon. "I am here to avenge the deaths of my brothers at your hands. After their deaths, sheer force of will brought their remaining data to me. They lusted for vengeance and wished me to deliver it. They gave me their data and power, creating the form you now see before you."

"If you're looking for a fight then just say so," roared Coredramon, stepping forward towards NeoDevimon. Although NeoDevimon was a fair bit taller than his previous form, Coredramon was twice as tall still. Sealsdramon, D'arcmon and Dobermon stepped forward also.

NeoDevimon sneered; "I seek to fight the ones who claimed my brothers' lives. The rest of you can stay out of it until I'm finished with them." With that he gave a heavy swing of his claw, knocking both Sealsdramon and Dobermon back. Hanae and Ren ran to the sides of their now unconscious partners.

Daichi gritted his teeth. "If that's the way you wanna play then fine, but we're in a hurry." He then looked up to Coredramon and smiled; "Let's make short work of him okay?" He nodded to Kioko and then the two of them aimed the ports on their Digivices at their partners. They called out together: "Evolution Limit…BREAK!"

NeoDevimon took to the air, but was quickly met there by Wingdramon. He swung the blade on the tip of his tail at the demon, only to have it grabbed by him. NeoDevimon then, with an impressive show of strength, swung the great blue dragon around by his tail and threw him to the ground.

"Pathetic," chided their foe.

Hippogryphomon let out a screech and charged NeoDevimon. He threw both of his claws at her, but she dove under them, rising up behind him. Before he could turn around she kicked off of him with her hind talons, eliciting a painful yell from him. Before she could fly away however, he kicked her hard in the side with the spikes on his feet. She winced from the impact, which allowed him to get above her and ram both of his spiked elbows into her. The impact threw her to the ground alongside Wingdramon.

NeoDevimon set down a few feet away from the two. "What's wrong with you two? My brothers cannot be avenged by such a pathetic victory. Stand up and fight!" He then glanced at the rest of the group. "Perhaps you would fight better if your companions were in more immediate danger." He stretched his arm and grabbed Kioko by the scruff of her shirt, pulling her in close.

Hippogryphomon stood up. "Don't you dare touch her!" she roared, leaping at NeoDevimon. She bared her front talons at him, but stopped when his free hand wrapped around her midsection. He began to squeeze with a sick look of satisfaction on his face.

'Fira Bomb!' called out Firamon, sending a large flaming orb at NeoDevimon. Lekismon attacked at the same time, shooting off a 'Midnight Bomber'. The two attacks struck NeoDevimon's arms, causing him to drop his captives. He grunted and jumped backwards, glaring at the two of them.

"I told you to stay out of this!" he yelled. "This is my fight for vengeance and I will see it done!"

"I'm afraid your quest for vengeance is causing us some problems," taunted Firamon. "Thusly we, as friends, are entitled to help out."

"You seemed rather bored anyways," added Lekismon. "Perhaps fighting us would be more fun."

"Do not mock me you vermin. I'll get rid of you first and then I shall take my revenge properly."

NeoDevimon charged at the two of them, but they were prepared. Firamon leapt overtop of NeoDevimon's head while Lekismon dashed under his legs. Once they were behind him the two of them unleashed another pair of attacks. NeoDevimon was surprised by their movements and was unable to avoid the attacks. When he recovered he turned and glared at the two of them.

"See, I told you a little bit of preparation goes a long way," stated Seiichi smugly.

"Yeah, but too much will get you nowhere," replied Ayame. "Plus, a plan alone isn't good enough if you don't have the willpower to back it up."

"Are you saying I'm lacking in willpower?"

"No I'm just saying you hesitate too much. Sure it's good to have a plan sometimes, but you also need to know when to charge in headlong."

"You never use any subtlety do you?"

"Nope, I always tell it like it is."

Just then the twins' Digivices shone brightly. The light coming from Seiichi's was orange while Ayame's was pink. Flashing on the screen of her Digivice was the word 'Purity', while on his was 'Patience'. Ayame smirked at Seiichi, who nodded in response. They held out their Digivice towards Firamon and Lekismon while calling out 'Evolution Limit…BREAK!'

Before NeoDevimon could make any further moves, Lekismon and Firamon were both enveloped in spheres of light. The orange sphere formed first. 'FIRAMON SUPER EVOLUTION! FLAREMON!' The orange sphere dispersed in a burst of flames. The Digimon that stepped out of it was little different from Firamon. He was now standing on his hind legs and his front paws had become fully formed hands. His great yellow mane looked like a combination of long flowing hair and a full beard. His shoulders and torso were armoured and ornate spikes hung down from both of his shoulder pads.

The occupant of the pink sphere leapt forth from it, landing next to Flaremon. 'LEKISMON SUPER EVOLUTION!' she called out. 'CRESCEMON!' Crescemon also looked quite similar to her previous form, but now she bore armour and weapons. She had gauntlets on her arms, greaves on her legs, plated armour on her torso and a heavy helm covering the top of her head. In her right hand she held a rod tipped with a crescent shaped blade and in her left a semicircular shield marked with a crescent moon.

NeoDevimon smirked at the two new Ultimates. "Perhaps you will be more worthwhile for my revenge.

"Don't forget about me," roared Wingdramon, stepping towards NeoDevimon. "That got one of your brother's killed last time."

"How dare you!" roared NeoDevimon.

The enraged demon leapt at Wingdramon, but before he could reach him Flaremon attacked him. 'Crimson Wave' he called out, shooting a massive column of superheated air at NeoDevimon. The force of the wave's impact threw NeoDevimon into Wingdramon, who caught him with his tail, pinning his arms to his side.

"Time for a little payback of my own," he said, jetting into the air.

Once he was airborne, Wingdramon used his tail to throw NeoDevimon to the ground. NeoDevimon struck the ground hard, twitching from the force of the impact. He attempted to stand, but when he brought his head up he saw Crescemon.

Crescemon coupled her weapons together to form a crossbow. She pointed the new weapon dead center in NeoDevimon's face. She simply said 'Midnight Arrow', and a twilight coloured bolt shot from the bow through NeoDevimon's head. He let out a shriek which was cut off abruptly as his data dispersed. Crescemon smirked at her felled opponent before degenerating to Lekismon.

Lekismon was joined by Coredramon and Firamon, all of whom walked over to Kioko and D'arcmon. Both of them had regained consciousness, but were nursing bumps on their heads. Dobermon and Sealsdramon had also recovered at this time. The rest of the group gathered together and congratulated Seiichi and Ayame.

"Thanks," he said, somewhat timidly.

"It was nothing," she smiled.

"Hey you know what this means right?" asked Daichi, rhetorically. "We've all unleashed our virtues now!"

"Hey he's right," responded Ren. "This means we might be ready to face the Demon Lords."

"Yes, but hopefully we won't have to right away. If we keep going we should be able to reach the barrier before Fellangemon can bring it down."

"Well then what are we waiting for?"

**Author's Notes: **Tada, everyone has gotten to the Ultimate level now. Will they get to the barrier before Fellangemon? Find out next chapter. Keep in mind though that if they don't get there before him, little Takeshi is going to release them and all but doom the entire Digital World. Then again that might happen anyways, stay tuned.

**Revision Notes: **Once again there's not much to take note of. I fixed a few details and grammar bugs, but from here on out the revisions are likely going to be far less substantial.


	20. Fellangemon's Folly

Chapter 19: Fellangemon's Folly

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

After defeating NeoDevimon, the group hasted towards the border of the Dark Area. They made only two brief stops to eat during the day. Oddly enough their eating breaks saw more intrusions than their regular travels, apparently due to a lack of food in the Fringe. Such pests were easily shooed and otherwise the group faced no opposition. The sun was beginning to set when D'arcmon felt a painful twinge in her mind. The others were alerted to it when she stopped briefly, grasping at her temples.

"Are you alright?" asked Kioko, concerned for her partner's wellbeing.

"I am fine," replied D'arcmon. "We are very near to the Dark Area and the presence of the Demon Lords' evil was a bit overwhelming."

"How close exactly are we?" asked Hanae.

"I believe that we should soon be able to see the barrier itself."

At her words, Daichi ran ahead of the group, scouting for the barrier. Sure enough, when he reached the top of a nearby hill, the top of a great, pink sphere became visible. The surface of this sphere crackled with bolts of energy that jumped around it.

"Wow," he exclaimed. He then waved the others over to him; "Guys, I found it!"

The rest of the group ran up the hill after Daichi and looked out at the now visible barrier. Sealsdramon zoomed in on the barrier with his mechanical eye.

"There's still a fair bit of distance between us and the Dark area," he stated. "That being the case, this place must be huge."

"I would have imagined it so," said D'arcmon, standing next to him. "For such a great evil to be contained within, such a scale would have been necessary."

"I wonder if it's their power, or just the Demon Lords themselves that are large," mused Evan.

"Although I know nothing of their forms, I can assure you that their power is quite enormous."

Sealsdramon continued observing the barrier through his mechanical eye. A blur of motion caught his attention. He focused in on that blur and magnified it.

"Guy's we've got trouble," he called. "I can see Fellangemon heading towards the barrier. He's way ahead of us."

"Damn it," cursed Ren, "can you see if he has anything out of the ordinary?"

"He's carrying something, but I'm having a hard time making it out because he keeps moving. Wait I think I can see it… you're not going to believe this."

"What is it?" demanded Seiichi.

"I think it's another human kid, since he kinda looks like you guys."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Absolutely, there's no doubt now that I've got a good look at him."

"Why would Fellangemon have a kid from our world?" asked Kioko.

"Who cares why," interjected Daichi, "we can assume it's nothing good. Wingdramon and I should be able to catch him though, so we'll go on ahead."

Coredramon quickly evolved into Wingdramon and Daichi jumped onto his back. He leapt into the air and his engine whirred to life.

"Hang on tight," he warned.

There was a tremendous bang as he went supersonic in order to catch up to Fellangemon. It took less than a minute for Wingdramon to come within a couple hundred feet of Fellangemon, at which time he slowed himself. The fallen angel glanced over his shoulder when he heard Wingdramon's engine behind him. He glared at the great dragon and then looked back to Takeshi.

"It seems that the enemy has caught onto my mission," he said, faking a worried tone.

"What should we do?" asked Takeshi.

"Hold on tight, I'll try to lose him. If I succeed, I'll set you down at the barrier. After that, I'll go back to hold them off. Even if I fall against them, you must release my masters. Their freedom is much more important."

Fellangemon shifted Takeshi in his arms in order to free one of them for use. He looked back and fired a burst of dark energy at Wingdramon. The blue dragon swerved to avoid the attack, and prepared to retaliate. A sharp jab from Daichi stopped him from doing so.

"Don't go attacking just yet," he said urgently, "you might hurt that kid."

"Sorry Daichi, force of habit."

"It's alright, just see if you can get me closer and I'll try and grab the kid."

Just as Wingdramon looked forward, another burst of dark energy flew at him. He noticed it too late to completely avoid the attack, which grazed his engine. He let out a yelp and began to lose speed.

"Hey, how come we're slowing down more?"

"Sorry Daichi, my engine is out. All I can do is glide at this point. If I tried to speed up by flapping my wings, you might get thrown off."

"Alright then, put us down. We'll wait for the others to catch up before we go after him."

Wingdramon groaned but followed Daichi's suggestion. He set down gently as Fellangemon flew off towards the barrier. He had put quite a bit of distance between him and the rest of the group. Half an hour passed before the others began to show up. Kioko and Seiichi arrived first, flying in on Hippogryphomon and Firamon. They set down next to Wingdramon and dismounted their partners.

"Where'd Fellangemon go?" asked Seiichi.

"I'm afraid he got away from us," replied Daichi, "He knocked out Wingdramon's engine and we couldn't keep up with him. Since we couldn't keep up with him by ourselves we figured it would be best to wait for everyone else."

"The others are on their way, but we went ahead since we could fly," commented Hippogryphomon.

"We figured it would be difficult for you to take him on your own," said Kioko. "Especially while trying to protect that other kid at the same time."

"Are you saying I'm weak?" chided Wingdramon.

"Of course not," replied Firamon, "you just have a rather large blast radius."

A few minutes later the sound of mechanical clanking reached the group. They looked behind them to see the others approaching. Tankdramon was rolling towards them with Crescemon and Cerberumon running alongside him. Evan and Ren were standing on Tankdramon. Crescemon was carrying Betamon while Hanae and Ayame both rode on Cerberumon's back. Once the group had completely assembled, they began to discuss how they would go about stopping Fellangemon and saving the kid.

"I think that Kioko and I should go ahead first," said Daichi. "We're the fastest and if we go there quickly we should be able to stop Fellangemon from starting whatever he has in store for that kid."

"Once we get there," continued Kioko, "we should be able to keep Fellangemon busy for a while. That should give the rest of you time to reach the barrier."

"Once we're all assembled, we Digimon will work on driving Fellangemon away from the kid. That way you guys can get him away form the barrier," finished Crescemon.

"With seven on one we should be able to do more than just keep Fellangemon occupied," stated Wingdramon. "We should have more than enough power to beat him now."

"Actually you'll only be fighting him six on one," said Evan. "We just tried it, but Betamon is still having trouble evolving."

"No worries," replied Daichi, "it should still be more than enough. Betamon will just stick with us and help protect the kid."

"You make it sound as though I intend to harm that child," came the voice of Fellangemon. The group looked in the direction his voice had come from and saw him materialize in front of them. "That child is a precious tool that I need to aid the release of my masters. I wouldn't dream of hurting him."

"Somehow we're not inclined to believe you. What have you done with him?" demanded Ayame.

"I left him at the barrier for now. I figured that it wouldn't be long before you came to interrupt, so I decided to deal with you first."

"That's funny," retorted Flaremon, "we had something else in mind; Crimson Wave!"

The great lion unleashed a stream of superheated flames directly at Fellangemon. The evil Digimon simply sneered in response and spun his scythe in front of him, deflecting the flames. He scoffed at the attempt before taunting the group.

"I see you're as pathetic as ever. That's too bad really; I came here thinking you'd be able to provide a challenge."

The sound of a gun being cocked drew Fellangemon's attention. Tankdramon was aiming all of his turrets directly at him. Tankdramon called out 'Gattling Assault' and opened fire. Fellangemon smirked and threw himself into the air, away from the stream of ammunition flying from Tankdramon. Tankdramon ceased firing his guns, not wanting to accidentally strike one of his friends.

Tankdramon instead fired a round of missiles after Fellangemon. He glared at the attack and held out his hand. The missiles that flew at him began to spin and then flew completely around him. They impacted the ground behind him and exploded, leaving large craters in their wake.

Before Fellangemon had a chance to gloat, Cerberumon leapt at him, metal claws bared. Fellangemon caught his claws with the blade of his scythe. He glanced to the side and saw Crescemon leaping at him, swinging her sickle in a tight circle. He hooked the blade of his scythe into Cerberumon's claws and then swung him around, causing his body to collide with hers. The two of them then fell to the ground.

Wingdramon roared and unleashed his 'Sonic Blaze' attack at Fellangemon. Fellangemon shook his head and began to rotate his scythe in front of him again. He was able to withstand the flames, but when the full force of the sonic wave struck him, he was thrown to the ground. He landed with a heavy thud and then stood up, propping himself up on his scythe.

"Perhaps this won't be quite as boring as I originally expected," taunted Fellangemon.

The fallen angel let out a yelp as something pierced his left shoulder, causing his left arm to fall limp to his side. He looked in time to see the twilight coloured arrow in his shoulder dissolve. Looking to where the attack had come from, he saw Crescemon holding out her crossbow, with Cerberumon getting to his feet behind her.

"Unfortunately I have to agree with you," she said as another bolt appeared on her weapon. "However that's only because you seem to couple boredom with a lack of danger." She fired the bolt at him, but he was able to deflect it this time.

"Then it seems I shall have to start fighting seriously."

Fellangemon then held out his scythe, the blade of which became wreathed in dark energy. 'Infernal Blade' he called, swinging his scythe sharply. A massive, black, crescent shaped blade launched from his scythe. Crescemon decoupled her weapons and held her shield out in front of her. The blade impacted the shield, cleaving it in half. The impact threw her past Cerberumon where she landed on her back, unconscious.

Cerberumon roared and threw himself at Fellangemon. Once again his claws were caught on the blade of the scythe. This time however, Cerberumon kicked forth his hind legs, using his claws to slice apart the rod. The breaking of his scythe caused Fellangemon to lose his balance and stagger backwards from Cerberumon.

Hippogryphomon, who had remained airborne for most of the fight, dove at Fellangemon after he lost his scythe. He was still off balance and was unable to avoid her talons, which tore into his side. He clutched at his side with his remaining hand, until she swooped past again, slashing at his back.

Fellangemon fell to the ground, writhing in pain. He was encircled by Wingdramon, Cerberumon and Flaremon. The three of them called out their attacks together; 'Emerald Blaze', 'Sonic Blaze', and 'Crimson Wave.' Three streams of fire, one red, one blue and one green converged on Fellangemon, causing a massive explosion.

When the smoke cleared, Fellangemon was still there, but he was in rough shape. His right wing was torn up and his left one was missing. His robe was shredded and his helmet was cracked, one of his eyes visible. That one eye shone with hatred as he glared at the Digimon who had attack him. His gaze was drawn away when a massive flash of light erupted near the barrier.

Fellangemon let out a wicked, howling laugh. "Ha; you've failed human children! The barrier is about to fall and my Lords will be released. Even if I'm not the one to kill you, I shall perish with the knowledge that you will soon follow me." With that, Fellangemon disappeared.

"This is not good," called Daichi. Wingdramon landed next to him and he jumped onto his back. "I'm going ahead; Kioko you come with me since you can fly too."

Kioko nodded nervously and jumped on to Hippogryphomon as she flew past. Daichi then took off with Wingdramon and flew towards the barrier. The others ran behind the two flyers on foot.

**Authors Notes: **Uh oh, looks like the kids are in really big trouble. Will they make it in time to stop Takeshi from taking down the barrier? Find out next time. I always wanted to say that.

**Revision Notes: **Once again there weren't that many revisions. I fixed some paragraphing errors and added a couple new details.


	21. Evil Unleashed

Chapter 20: Evil Unleashed

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

When the column of light surrounding Takeshi faded, he had moved somewhere completely different from where he had been. All around him the scenery was desolate and barren. Lifeless trees and crumbling buildings could be seen in the distance. The unfamiliar territory made him uneasy, and he inched closer to the being that was from this world.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"We have traveled to my world," replied Fellangemon. "I know it seems barren, but it used to be a much more beautiful place. This ruin was brought about by the great battle and imprisonment of my Lords."

"Where are they imprisoned?"

"Fortunately it is not far from here, if we are where I think we are."

"Do you really think they'll be able to cure Chie?"

"I have no doubt that your wish is within their power to grant."

"Alright then, let's go."

"I hope you don't mind flying. Normally I can move about more quickly by warping, but I don't have much power left. I'm trying to save it for when it's absolutely necessary, in case something goes wrong."

"That's okay; I never had a big problem with heights."

Fellangemon nodded and wrapped his arms around Takeshi's waist. He leapt into the air and gently flapped his wings before breaking into a glide. Takeshi clutched tightly at the Digimon's arms to make sure he didn't fall. They had been flying for some time when the sound of a roaring engine reached the two of them. They looked behind them and saw Wingdramon flying close behind them.

"It seems the enemy has caught onto my mission," he said, faking a worried tone.

"What should we do?" asked Takeshi.

"Hold on tight, I'll try to lose him. If I succeed I'll set you down at the barrier. After that, I'll go back to hold them off. Even if I fall against them, you must release my masters. Their freedom is much more important."

Fellangemon shifted Takeshi in his arms in order to free one of them for use. He looked back and fired a burst of dark energy at Wingdramon. The great blue dragon avoided the attack, but then looked away. Fellangemon took this as an opportunity to attack again and shot another burst of dark energy. This time the attack connected, causing Wingdramon to lose speed. After Fellangemon knocked the blue dragon away, Takeshi looked forward and gasped at what he saw. There was a massive, crackling pink sphere coming up in front of them.

"What is that thing?" he asked.

"That is the barrier that keeps my Lords imprisoned. In order to free them you will have to eliminate it. That tool I gave you should be able to accomplish it."

"Do you know how it works?"

"I imagine there will be more text stored on it that will instruct you in its usage. When we set down at the barrier I shall read that text to you."

A few minutes later the two of them set down right in front of the barrier. Takeshi craned his neck upwards, awed by the sheer size of the barrier. He then turned back to Fellangemon and presented him with the Digivice. The fallen angel read over the text that appeared on the screen and then indicated to Takeshi a sequence in which to press the buttons.

"Wait until I get clear before you start," said Fellangemon. "I'm going to use the rest of my power to warp to where the enemy is. Once there I'll hold them off as long as I can."

"Do you think you're going to be alright?"

"To be honest, no I don't think I will be. However; if you successfully free my masters then it will have all meant something."

"Alright then, I'll try my best."

Fellangemon gave Takeshi a soft smile and then dematerialized. Takeshi turned to the barrier and held out the Digivice and made the first few button presses of the series. The Digivice shot out a stream of light that connected with the barrier, sending a ripple along its surface. After pressing in the remaining sequence, the Digivice began to send pulses of light along the stream, each one rippling along the barriers surface.

Over the minutes that followed the pulses from the Digivice started to come more frequently. Eventually it came to the point where the pulses were no longed distinguishable and had merged into a thickened stream. At this point there was a great flash of light and several large cracks appeared in the surface of the barrier. The cracks spread along the barriers surface until they reached beyond what Takeshi could see. After that, the barrier simply disintegrated, revealing an expanse of land similar to the rest of the Fringe.

There was a heavy fog over the area that had been under the barrier. At first there was nothing visible, but after a short while a group of silhouetted figures appeared within the fog. A loud engine revving could be heard as one figure on a motorbike drove rapidly away from the group.

"Where does Beelzemon think he's going?" came a regal sounding voice.

"Oh you know him Lucemon, he never could sit still," replied a female voice.

"Um, are you guys the Lords that Fellangemon talked about?" asked Takeshi.

"Who, pray tell, is asking?" came a response from a deep, booming voice.

"Um, I'm Takeshi Umeko. I released the barrier on this area."

"Ooh it's a little human child," said the female voice in a condescending tone.

"Can I eat him?" asked Leviamon, whom Takeshi could only see as a large mass behind the other figures.

"Come now Leviamon, he did set us free after all."

"You are quite right Lilithmon," said Barbamon in his whispery voice. "I think he deserves some kind of reward."

"I agree," stated Lucemon, "very well human child, we shall grant you a reward for freeing us. Your reward shall be… that you get to live."

The Demon Lords began to laugh together, and Takeshi backed away, horrified of them.

"However, we can't have you interfering alongside those other pesky children, so we're going to send you away for now."

Before Takeshi could say anything, he found himself wrapped in a small pink sphere, very similar to the barrier that had been around the Dark Area. He began to yell and bang against the sides of the barrier, even though he knew there was no one else nearby. He could see the Demon Lords laughing at him from outside the sphere, before the world faded to black around him.

* * *

After departing from the rest of the group, Daichi and Kioko kept a keen eye on the barrier as they flew towards it. They watched the massive cracks form in the barrier up until it disintegrated completely. As they drew nearer to the barrier they were able to see a group of figures amass, save for one that moved rapidly away from the others. Although there was a heavy fog, one of the figures stood well above the rest, giving the impression of being a scaly red mountain.

Daichi and Kioko set down with their partners a short distance away from the group of figures. The first thing they saw after setting down was a small pink sphere, reminiscent of the Dark Area's barrier, which vanished shortly after they laid their eyes on it. After the pink sphere disappeared, the fog began to clear up. As it did, the figures of six of the seven Demon Lords became visible.

Four of the figures were about the size of human adults, if perhaps somewhat taller. One of them, Barbamon, appeared to be an old man, draped in a tattered robe and holding a large staff topped with a skull. Another was almost completely covered by a cloak and hood. The only features of Daemon visible were a pair of horns jutting out of that hood, and black wings on his back.

The third of them, Lilithmon, was the only female of the group, dressed in an ornate black and purple gown and bearing a smirk that showed a glint of elongated fangs. The final human sized figure was princely in appearance, with elegant clothes in black and white. Lucemon had eight wings on his back; four of them were white and feathered like those of an angel, while the others were black and bat like.

Behind the first four stood a large figure, roughly the same height as Wingdramon. Very bestial in appearance, Belphemon had massive claws on his hands and feet, a pair of large horns on his head and six bat like wings. Behind the other five was a massive red, scaled creature; Leviamon. This massive demon resembled a crocodile with blue fins running down his back and on his legs. His snout and jaws were equal in length to the entire rest of his body.

Daichi took a deep breath and then dismounted Wingdramon. He took several steps forward, approaching the Demon Lords. Kioko got off of Hippogryphomon, but stayed next to her.

"Be careful Daichi," she called in a worried tone.

Daichi stopped walking forward about twenty feet from the Demon Lords. His approach caught their attention, as they stopped conversing amongst themselves and looked at him. Despite the coldness of their stares, he kept looking straight at them.

"So, are you the Demon Lords we've been told about?" he asked determinedly.

Daemon stepped forward, standing a few feet taller than Daichi. "Yes we are," he replied. "I suppose you are the human children who have been opposing us and destroying our servants."

"Yup, that would be us. I just wanted to tell you first hand that you're next."

At this statement, Daemon let out a wicked cackle. The other Demon Lords broke into laughter as well. Daemon glared at Daichi and grabbed him by the neck of his shirt, bringing him up to eye level.

"You overestimate your abilities, foolish human. I shall very much enjoy showing you just how insignificant you are."

Daemon raised his free hand, which was tipped with red claws. Before the cloaked demon could make any further moves, a missile exploded at his feet. He jumped back, dropping Daichi and rejoining the other Demon Lords. Daichi pulled himself to his feet, rubbing his neck where it had been clutched by Daemon. He looked over his shoulder to see the rest of the group approaching quickly, with Tankdramon holding out a smoking barrel.

Kioko walked up next to Daichi; "Are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he replied, "just a little winded."

"You really shouldn't be so reckless."

"Oh well, now that the others are here we should be fine."

The other children ran to join Daichi and Kioko while their partners, save for Betamon, went ahead and formed a line between the children and the Demon Lords.

"So, are those the Demon Lords?" asked Seiichi.

"Six of them; one of them rode off before we got here," replied Daichi.

"Well then I guess that's lucky, since there's six of us ready to fight," stated Flaremon.

"I'm afraid that we don't have a lot of time to deal with you little pests," called Daemon. "Now that we're free, we have a Digital World to conquer. Besides, it will only require one of us to dispatch you fools."

The children's Digimon stood their ground in spite of Daemon's threat. Lucemon then stepped forward from the others;

"You can go on ahead," he said, waving them off. "These insolent children are in need of lesson on how things truly work here in the Digital World. I think I shall enjoy being the one to teach it to them."

"Very well, we shall return to our own domains. I imagine Beelzemon has already returned to the City Area."

With that the other five Demon Lords were wrapped in veils of darkness and disappeared. Lucemon turned and faced the children's Digimon with a sneer on his face. Daichi pulled out his Digivice and scanned Lucemon. He was listed as an Ultimate level, but another symbol was next to his level. This was the same symbol he had seen on Seraphimon's data, but he shrugged it off.

"He's just an Ultimate guys," called out Daichi, "we can take him."

Lucemon snickered at Daichi's comment; "You dare to put me in the same class as you? I shall show you what true power is."

"We shall see," replied Crescemon.

Wingdramon and Hippogryphomon took off into the air while the other four encircled Lucemon. Crescemon was the first to attack, as she called out 'Lunatic Dance'. She held out her sickle and began to spin rapidly in a circle, until her visage became blurred. She then charged at Lucemon, bringing with her the force of a tornado. In one swift movement, the regal demon held out his hand and grabbed her arm, stopping her spinning immediately. He then rammed his fist into her gut, causing her to wretch violently. She fell to the ground and turned back into Lekismon.

Tankdramon aimed all of his barrels at Lucemon and began to fire. Lucemon simply stood there as the barrage came, holding out his hand. When the projectiles came close to his hand they just stopped. A wave of Lucemon's hand caused them to turn around and fly back at Tankdramon. Unable to withstand his own barrage, Tankdramon was knocked over backwards and then returned to his champion stage.

Cerberumon snarled at Lucemon and leapt at him, claws bared. At the same time Hippogryphomon let out a shriek and down towards him, extending her talons. Lucemon smirked and leapt into the air above Hippogryphomon. He delivered a kick right between her wings, eliciting a sharp yelp from her. The blow sent her flying downwards, where she collided with Cerberumon. The two crashed into the ground, sprawled in a heap. They too degenerated after their crash.

Flaremon took a step back from Lucemon, bearing a slightly worried look. He took a deep breath and then glared at Lucemon. 'Crimson Wave' he roared, shooting a stream of flames at Lucemon. At the same time, Wingdramon yelled out 'Sonic Blaze', unleashing his own stream of fire at Lucemon. Lucemon held both hands out at his side, an orb of white energy appearing in one and a black one in the other. He threw these two orbs into the incoming streams of flame. The orbs tore through the streams and struck Wingdramon and Flaremon hard, knocking them both to the ground. They attempted to stand, but could not. Instead the two of them changed back into Coredramon and Firamon.

The children stared in disbelief at what had just transpired. In less than one minute, a single opponent had defeated all six of their partners. They then ran to the sides of their respective partners and tried to bring them back to consciousness.

Lucemon smirked at the children and their Digimon. "Do you see now?" he asked. "Do you see what the true power of the Demon Lords is? You should consider yourselves honoured to have been felled by my hands. Now to finish you off."

Lucemon again summoned black and white energy orbs, but this time he brought his hands forward and merged to two. 'Paradise Lost' he exclaimed, unleashing a massive stream of energy that spiraled with black and white bands. The children shut their eyes and winced away from the attack.

A moment passed, followed by another. The impact of the attack did not come. Daichi opened his eyes and saw that their group was surrounded by a glowing, transparent sphere. At either end of this sphere, Wizardmon and Sorcerymon were standing with their hands outwards, wrapped in the same energy.

In front of the shield stood Shakkoumon, who was bearing the brunt of Lucemon's attack. The stream of energy seemed to fizzle out around him and eventually died off. A jet of steam spouted from Shakkoumon's head as he slumped forward a bit.

"Thank goodness I did not arrive too late," he stated in his metallic voice.

"Shakkoumon!" exclaimed Daichi. "Are we ever glad to see you."

"As am I, but I had been hoping to meet you here under less desperate circumstances."

Before the Prophecy Keeper spoke further, he looked to Lucemon and declared 'Justice Beam'. Rays of orange light shot out from his eyes and struck Lucemon, knocking him backwards. Shakkoumon then turned his attention back to the children.

"You must go now, while there is time."

"But what about you?" called out Hanae.

"My purpose for being here is to buy you the time you need to escape. After that it is up to you. Sorcerymon; Wizardmon I have given you the power you require for the next task, use it and get away from this place."

The two wizards nodded and waved their staffs, causing a magic seal to appear and the ground beneath the shield. The seal glowed bright white and the entire group disappeared. Shakkoumon then turned back to Lucemon, who was now back on his feet.

"Well, at least there's a consolation prize," he sneered. "I get to destroy you, Prophecy Keeper."

"I know," replied Shakkoumon. "However; even though my death shall be immediate, yours shall soon follow."

* * *

When the group rematerialized, they found themselves back at Shakkoumon's underground temple. The Digimon had now regained consciousness, but were disoriented due to their change in whereabouts. Wizardmon and Sorcerymon had dropped the shield and were looking over the children to make sure they were unharmed. Daichi pounded the ground with his fist.

"Damn it," he exclaimed, "we weren't able to even touch him."

"Thus is the power of the Demon Lords," replied Sorcerymon. "In the terms of the Digital World they are in the class of Gods. You may have seen the mark of the God Class had you scanned any of them. Seraphimon and the other Benevolent Masters bore this mark as well."

"Why would Shakkoumon send us that way if he knew we wouldn't be strong enough to face them?" asked Ayame.

"When Shakkoumon first sent you off, he had thought the barrier would still be active by the time you arrived. Fellangemon's use of the human child to break the barrier was unforeseen," responded Wizardmon.

"He sent you to travel through the Fringe in hopes that you would get a feel for the power the Demon Lords and their servants possessed. He wanted you to see firsthand the strength of their evil. His original intention was to come to you once you reached the barrier, so that he could tell you of the next task you are to partake."

"The Demon Lords are free now though, so what does it matter?"

"There is still time to complete the final task; otherwise Shakkoumon would not have directed us to lead you on it. Instead he would have asked us to take you back to your world."

"Well then what is this final task?" asked Seiichi.

"You have all now unleashed the power of your virtues and proven yourselves worthy. The final task you must complete is to gather the sacred weapons. The weapons will give you the power you need to fight the Demon Lords. They are scattered throughout the Digital World and collecting them would have entailed sufficient trial and journey for you to be ready to face the Demon Lords."

"However, since they were freed before this task could be accomplished we shall be taking you to the sites of the weapons ourselves, using the power that Shakkoumon gave us. Hopefully this in itself will be enough to prepare you. Before that though, you must rest. This day has been long and difficult for you, and you will be safe here for the night. Wizardmon and I also need rest in order to muster the strength to travel these great distances."

"We shall be leaving first thing in the morning, so be prepared."

**Author's Notes: **I would like to give a bit of a size comparison so that you have some idea of the scale on which I am sizing the Digimon. Humanoid Digimon are generally the same height as human adults, ranging between six and eight feet in height. Coredramon, who I am frequently noting the size of, stands at about 16 feet tall, with Shakkoumon in a similar height range. Wingdramon is somewhat taller, standing at around 20 feet. Belphemon (and in addition the evolved form of Wingdramon who shall appear in the next chapter) is about 30 feet tall. Leviamon, the biggest Digimon in this story is HUGE (comparatively speaking). He is about 300 feet long and 80 wide (except for his snout), approximately in the same size class as the Sovereigns (Azulongmon etc). Since it's obvious that Evan, their water guy, will be the one fighting him I shall state that Betamon's mega form is about 80 feet long when fully stretched out. The rest of the children's mega form partners are humanoid size or thereabouts. I would also like to note partial credit for the God Class idea to DameonStarflame. She and I once discussed the nature of Digimon whose power exceeded normal Mega levels. She classified it as an additional level of evolution while I think of it as an additional class outside of level, since not just Mega level Digimon have that kind of power (although Lucemon may be the only non-mega to possess God Status).

**Revision Notes: **Once again the revisions to this chapter were minor. Since Wizardmon was back in this chapter, I went through his dialogue and fixed it to the more proper style I had been going for. Other than that just some paragraph fixes and grammar bugs.


	22. The First Weapon

Chapter 21: The First Weapon

**Disclaimer: I do not Own Digimon**

The children were hardly able to sleep that night. They were worried about what was going on above ground, afraid that the Demon Lords might burst in at any moment. On the other hand their partners slept deeply and peacefully. This was likely because of their loss of strength after the beating they had suffered at the hands of Lucemon.

After their night of almost sleeping, the children were awakened early by Wizardmon and Sorcerymon. The waking was rather rough, but the children tolerated it, knowing what they needed to do. They gathered in the main hallway despite their dreariness. Their partners were already awake and waiting for them.

"Now then," began Wizardmon, "today we shall seek out the Sacred Weapons. We know of where they are, but not of who is to lay claim to each weapon."

"However; we believe that there will be some kind of sign to that effect," added Sorcerymon. "Even if that is not the case we will be able to find out once we collect all of them so no matter what you shall each receive your proper weapon."

"Where exactly are the weapons hidden?" asked Daichi.

Ayame followed with another question; "Do the Demon Lords know about them?"

"The weapons are hidden in temples throughout the Digital World. The Demon Lords do know of the weapons, but we do not believe that this will be a serious issue."

"Why is that?"

"First of all, the weapons cannot be destroyed. We do not know if the Demon Lords know their locations, but even if they did, stealing them would be impossible."

"The weapons can only be removed by their destined wielders; you, the virtuous Digimon. The only thing that the Demon Lords could really do, if anything, is to station their servants as hindrances to the temples."

"Then the only thing we really have to worry about is the Demon Lords themselves showing up to thwart us," stated Seiichi. The other children looked worried at this notion.

"I do not think we shall have to worry about that either. Although I mean you no offence by saying this; the Demon Lords do not think you to be worth their time. In addition, aside from Lucemon, they believe that you have perished. That however, shall be what brings about their undoing."

"Do you really think we can do this?" asked Kioko nervously.

"We have no doubt whatsoever that you will be able to overcome this trial. Shakkoumon and Seraphimon both had faith in you, and even gave their lives to protect you. We believe that their sacrifices shall not be in vain."

Daichi nodded with determination, "Alright, let's do this. I'm not about to let their sacrifices become meaningless."

Wizardmon and Sorcerymon both nodded in reply. They walked to opposite sides of the hall. They waved their staves and another magic seal akin to the one from the day before formed beneath the group. The seal lit up with a bright light and the group was whisked away.

* * *

The group rematerialized in a lightly forested field. There were some mountains visible in the distance and the sun was just reaching the tops of the trees. They were near the tree line that broke into a wide field filled with flowers and tall grass.

"Hey, where are we?" asked Evan.

"I believe this is part of the Plains Area," replied Sorcerymon.

"I have been here before," added Wizardmon, "and it is indeed part of the Plains Area. As I recall the temple is within this small forest."

"Well then let's stop yammering and find it already," exclaimed Daichi.

The group began to walk through the forest in search of the temple. The forest was small and it only took them a few minutes to walk from one end to the other. After checking the entire expanse of the forest, they found nothing. They emerged on the other side of the forest and looked around the edge.

"I thought you said the temple was inside this little forest," remarked Ayame.

"It is, unless this is not the same forest I visited before," replied Wizardmon.

"What does the temple look like?" asked Ren.

"I have never actually seen the temple. I was merely told about it by Shakkoumon when he took me here before. He also told me that it is hidden."

"Then how are we supposed to find it?"

Before a response could be given, Daichi's Digivice began to flash with a blue light. As they continued walking around the edge of the forest the light grew brighter and the flashes became more frequent. Daichi ran ahead of the others and stopped when the light became a solid stream. He held his Digivice forward and a pair of trees parted in front of him. Several more trees parted creating a clearing in which the temple materialized.

The temple was moderately sized and fairly plain in appearances. Two golden obelisks stood on either side of the door, which was also golden. The temple was made of a strange blue stone and stood a total of about thirty feet tall. The others came up behind Daichi and admired the newly appeared temple.

"Wow, it's pretty," remarked Hanae.

"Since Daichi's Digivice revealed the temple, his weapon must be inside," commented Seiichi.

"Congrats," said Ayame, cuffing Daichi on the back. "You have the good fortune of being the first to find a sacred weapon."

"It is good fortune indeed," added Sorcerymon. "We didn't encounter any of the Demon Lords vassals."

Contradictory to what Sorcerymon stated, a high pitched shriek split the air. The children covered their ears and looked to the source of the cry. Flying towards them was a large, ugly looking dragon. It was mostly red with a few splotches of white and a red hazard sign on his chest. It had three blade like claws on each hand and jointed blades running up its arms. It had nasty looking fangs, a sharp horn on its head and a long, serpent like tail in place of legs.

Daichi pointed his Digivice and quickly scanned the new dragon. It was revealed to be 'Megidramon', with 'Mega', 'Virus', and 'Megiddo Flame'. "Looks like you spoke too soon Sorcerymon. What's worse is that thing is a Mega level!"

"How are we supposed to fight that?"

"Leave it to us," called out the Digimon in unison. Then all together, save for Betamon, they evolved to their Ultimate forms. They ran in the direction Megidramon was flying in from and formed a line in front of the children. Megidramon landed in front of them, towering over all but Wingdramon, who was almost as big. It let out a vicious roar and salivated heavily. Where its spittle touched the ground, the grass died.

The children grouped together, except for Daichi, who stayed close to the temple. Wizardmon and Sorcerymon once again erected a shield around the others. Cerberumon was the first to attack Megidramon, leaping at it with his claws extended. Megidramon caught Cerberumon with the blade on its arm and threw him backwards. He landed softly and growled at Megidramon.

Before they could make any further moves, Megidramon began to lash out at them furiously with its claws and fangs. Fortunately, it wasn't very coordinated and the Digimon were able to avoid its hacking. Megidramon stopped its furious slashing and let out a roar as the sign on its chest began to flash. It belched out an immense stream of black coloured flames that engulfed the Digimon. Wingdramon and Hippogryphomon jumped into the air to avoid the attack, but the others weren't so lucky.

The flames flew around the ground towards the children. Daichi threw himself into the temple to avoid the attack. The other children were kept safe by the shield but it put a strain on the two wizards. When the flames ceased the partners that had been struck had reverted to their champion forms. Wingdramon and Hippogryphomon hovered between it and them, hoping to keep them from getting hurt further.

"Daichi," called out Ayame, "we're getting creamed out here. You need to bring out that weapon pronto."

Inside the temple Daichi heard Ayame's call and pulled himself to his feet. He observed the inside of the temple, which for the most part was devoid of features. On the temple's back wall stood a large alter. This altar housed a massive lance, which had a two pronged tip. The lance was surrounded by a blue aura, which was the same colour as the light coming from Daichi's Digivice.

Daichi instinctively held up the port on his Digivice which shot a stream of blue light into the aura. The aura faded but nothing else happened. Daichi approached the altar, on which a word was written in English. 'Am-bro-si-us', he sounded out, wishing he had paid more attention in his English writing classes.

Before he could do anything with the lance, there was a rumble from outside. Daichi threw himself away from the altar as the roof of the temple crashed inwards, with Wingdramon landing on top of the rubble pile. He degenerated into Coredramon as Megidramon clawed at the remnants of the temple roof, slobbering over the rubble. His saliva was potent enough to cause the stone to start liquefying.

Coredramon saw Daichi out of the corner of his eye and instinctively reached towards him. His hand found the Ambrosius, which lit up at his touch. There was an explosion of blue light that forced Megidramon backwards away from the temple. 'COREDRAMON LEAP EVOLUTION!' he called out. When the light faded there were two great red dragons present instead of one; 'EXAMON!'

Examon was just as big as Megidramon with bright red scales. His shoulders were covered with spikes and there were long horns on the back of his head. The Ambrosius was attached to his right arm and he had a thin tail that was as long as Megidramon's entire body. His most impressive features were his wings, each of which dwarfed the rest of his body. They were tipped with large points and lined with a silvery metal. There was also a wing-like fringe spreading from one elbow to the other, which sort of looked like a cape.

Examon let out a glorious roar and spread his wings to their full span. Although this destroyed what little was left of the temple's roof, it also intimidated Megidramon, who slid back from him. Examon flapped his wings once, creating a powerful gust of wind, throwing Megidramon onto its back. The evil dragon snarled and lashed at Examon with its tail, striking him hard in the face. However, he didn't so much as flinch from the blow. Instead, he reached up with his free hand and grabbed Megidramon's tail. With an extraordinary show of force, he lifted it into the air by its tail and then slammed it back into the ground.

Megidramon twitched in the indentation its impact had made, snarling weakly. Examon wrapped his tail around Megidramon, pinning its arms to its side. He lifted it up until it was about level with him. He then drew back Ambrosius and slammed its points into Megidramon's chest. The vile dragon howled in pain as the lance pierced it, causing the plate on its chest marked with the hazard sign to crack.

A turbine at the base of Ambrosius began to spin and several points along its length began to glow. Examon simply stated 'Dragonic Impact' before discharging a massive bolt of energy from the lance. The bolt pierced Megidramon, shattering the chest plate and passing right through his body. Megidramon let out a final howl before its data dispersed into the air.

Daichi had stood up after Examon evolved and had watched the fight from amongst the ruins of the temple. "Whoa," he breathed, admiring the magnitude of Examon's power. He then pumped his fist into the air. "Alright; with this kind of power there's no way the Demon Lords can win!"

Examon looked down at him and smiled, then reverted to Coredramon. A small blue sphere of light departed from his body and entered Daichi's Digivice. An image of Ambrosius briefly flashed on the screen before fading away. Daichi walked over the rubble to where the doors had been, emerging to join the others. The wizards had dropped their shield and the other Digimon had gotten back up. All of the children ran over to Daichi while Coredramon rejoined the other Digimon. The children all took turns complimenting or congratulating Daichi.

"That was awesome," exclaimed Ayame, cuffing Daichi on the back again.

"You performed most admirably," stated Seiichi.

"Thanks for beating up the nasty evil dragon," added Hanae.

"There shall be time for revelry later children," called out Wizardmon.

"We still have six other weapons to collect," finished Sorcerymon. "We need to keep moving; otherwise we might have to deal with more creatures like that."

"If we encounter more of them, Examon will just rip them apart," said Daichi confidently.

"Examon will not be enough to fight all seven Demon Lords on his own; we must continue this quest."

The children and Digimon gathered together in a group once more. The two wizards waved their staffs again, forming another magic seal on the ground below the group. The seal lit up with a flash and they were gone.

**Authors Notes: **There you have it, the first of seven Mega evolutions, and my personal favourite. The weapons all have names and are VERY powerful, as you should have figured from how fast Megidramon got wasted. Hopefully they'll be powerful enough to stop some God class Digimon. Keep reading to find out!

Also since I forgot to do this earlier I'll do it now: I do not own Digimon. In fact I don't own anything; all I have is this computer, which despite its age continues to serve me well.

**Revision Notes: **Again, not much to take note of. Some paragraph fixes and additional details, but not much else.


	23. A Fallen Hero

Chapter 22: A Fallen Hero

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

When the group emerged from their teleportation, they were standing on a paved road. Looking around, they saw a myriad of buildings, ranging from massive skyscrapers to small townhouses. The children were awed by this city, since it bore the closest resemblance to the Human World they had seen since their arrival. Sorcerymon and Wizardmon were doubled over and panting, using their staffs for support.

"Hey are you guys alright?" asked Evan.

"Transporting so far and so fast is very tiring," replied Wizardmon. "Nonetheless we shall be fine in short order."

"Are you sure," insisted Hanae, "because you don't look like you're doing very well. I think you two need some rest."

"There isn't time for that now," retorted Sorcerymon. "We must hurry and find the temple and obtain the Sacred Weapon."

Daichi looked around the buildings one more time before turning his attention back to the wizards. "Where are we this time?"

"I would think this is the City Area," came the reply from Seiichi.

"You are correct. However; I have not traveled in this part of the Digital World before so I do not know exactly where we are."

"This city is like a maze," warned Wizardmon. "We must be careful not to lose track of each other, else it will be difficult to meet up again."

"So how are going to find a temple in this maze?"

"That shouldn't be too hard really. We just have to start walking around and wait for one of our Digivices to give off a reaction like mine did in the Plains."

"It would help if we had some idea of where to start looking."

"Perhaps we should ask for directions," proposed Ren, pointing to the corner of a nearby building.

The others caught a glimpse of two small figures that darted around the corner when Ren pointed at them. They slowly peeked around again when the group made no effort to give chase.

"We're not going to hurt you. We were just looking for some help navigating through this city."

The two figures stepped forward and approached the group warily. They both bore some resemblance to rabbits, with long ears that appeared to have stubby fingers on the end of them. One of them was white with green markings while the other was brown with pink markings. The green one had a single horn on its forehead while the brown one bore three of them.

"Um, I'm Terriermon," said the white one. "This is my friend Lopmon, you'll have to forgive her; she's a bit shy."

"That's okay, we don't mind," replied Hanae with a smile.

"I hope you can forgive us for being nervous earlier, we thought you might be more servants of the Demon Lords. This place has been crawling with them; more so than ever in the past couple days."

"We're about the farthest thing from servants of the Demon Lords as there can be."

"That's good," piped in Lopmon, "they've hurt a lot of our friends and we've been running and hiding for a long time."

"You can imagine why we were suspicious at first; you guys are kind of funny looking. What kind of Digimon are you anyways?"

"Not this again," grumbled Daichi.

Seiichi was the one to correct them this time; "We're not Digimon at all, we're humans."

Lopmon and Terriermon's faces lit up when they heard the word 'human'. "Wait, does that mean you're the ones the rumours have been talking about?" he asked excitedly. Lopmon also seemed excited, but she said nothing.

"What kind of rumours have you heard?"

"According to word that's going around, there were a group of humans traveling together with strong Digimon and fighting the Demon Lords' servants."

"That sounds like us."

"We weren't sure whether to believe it or not, since humans were supposed to be a myth." Daichi put a palm to his forehead upon hearing that comment again. "However; now that I can see you with my own eyes, I know that you're very real indeed."

"So, what brings you to the City Area?"

"We came here in search of a Sacred Weapon, one that will grant us the power to face off against the Demon Lords. It should be in a temple here in the city."

The faces of Lopmon and Terriermon lit up again at the mention of the weapon. "You really think you can fight the Demon Lords themselves?"

"If we can find all of the weapons then yes, we can."

"Man I really wish I could help then, but I'm afraid I don't know of any temples here in the city."

"We might be able to help in other ways though," offered Lopmon. "We have been running and hiding in this city for quite some time. We know where most of the evil Digimon patrols are and how to avoid them."

Ren looked to the other children; "What do you think?" he asked.

"I think it would be good to have a guide, if what they say is true," replied Seiichi. "If we wish to find the temple as soon as possible, then avoiding patrols would be very desirable."

"How do we know they're telling the truth?" suggested Ayame. "We got tricked like this once before, remember?"

"I don't think that's going to be a problem this time," stated Evan. "First of all; they're too small to do any real harm." Lopmon looked away with reddened cheeks while Terriermon appeared annoyed. "Secondly; they're really eager to help and I think we could use some at this point."

"I think they're cute," added Hanae, "and they seem really nice."

"I'm in," exclaimed Daichi.

"Alright, I guess they can come along. If this is another trick though, I'm not going to be happy."

Lopmon and Terriermon were overjoyed at the prospect of helping the children. So much so that they even did a little dance together. "You won't regret this decision my friends," he claimed.

Lopmon did a small curtsey; "I hope we can be of service to you."

After that, Lopmon and Terriermon began leading the group through the city. They went first, followed by the children and their Digimon. Wizardmon and Sorcerymon took up the rear to keep an eye out for anyone following them. Every so often they would make a sudden stop and turn down another street. They would occasionally duck inside a building to avoid a passing patrol. However; despite all their travels, there was still no response from any of the children's Digivices. An hour of this ducking and darting across the city passed without any occurrences.

Then, all of a sudden, there was a flare up of green light from Ren's Digivice. A small sphere of light popped out of it and shot away from the group, tracing a zigzagging path through the air. Wherever the sphere traveled it left a green streak in the air, indicating the direction in which it had gone. The children nodded to each other and began to chase after the light.

The path laid by the sphere of light ducked and turned around several buildings. It appeared as though the sphere reflected the group's desire to avoid trouble, as the path it led them on was completely free of patrols. Eventually the path led them to a dead end street, lined on both sides with incredibly tall buildings. At the end of the road stood the temple, very similar in appearance to the one in the forest. The only real difference was that it was made from green stone.

As the group walked down the street, the trail of light faded away. When they reached the temple there was a single Digimon standing before it. Most of his body was covered in black armour that bore some silver and yellow markings. There were heavy gauntlets on his arms, each bearing three long, sharp metal claws. His head was draconic in appearance and had some mangy yellow hair sticking out from under it. Had the children been able to see his back, they would have seen a hexagon shaped plate marked in silver with an emblem that resembled the sun.

At the children's approach this Digimon looked up at them and stepped forward. "I am Blackwargreymon, guardian of this temple. Who dares to trespass here?"

Ren stepped forward to answer him, glowing Digivice in hand. "I am Ren, of the Children of Virtue. I have come to this temple to claim the Sacred Weapon within."

"That is unacceptable; Lord Beelzemon has ordered that no one is to enter here!"

"Wait a minute," blurted Sorcerymon, "Wargreymon was a protector of justice in the Digital World. Why is he taking orders from Beelzemon?"

"Judging by his appearance and demeanor," replied Wizardmon, "I imagine he has been corrupted by the Demon Lords. He is quite strong; it's not unreasonable for them to have wanted him as a servant."

Blackwargreymon glared at the children and then chided them. "I think Lord Beelzemon will be pleased to know that a nuisance as great as you has been eliminated."

The armoured enemy then stepped warily forward, approaching Ren. Sealsdramon stepped in from of him with his knife out, but Blackwargreymon tossed him aside like a rag doll.

"That's our cue," said Daichi holding his Digivice towards Coredramon. A sphere of blue light emerged from it and floated towards Coredramon. Ambrosius emerged from the sphere and Coredramon grabbed hold of it, evolving into Examon. He stepped between Blackwargreymon and Ren, towering over their enemy. Despite the narrow street, he swung Ambrosius and knocked Blackwargreymon into a building.

"We'll take care of him; you go get your weapon."

Ren nodded and then helped Sealsdramon back up. The two of them ran into the temple just as Blackwargreymon emerged from the building he had been smashed into.

"Perhaps you shall prove to be a worthy opponent," he said slyly.

Examon ignored him and thrust Ambrosius down at him. He side stepped the thrust and then leapt into the air, delivering a kick to Examon's head. The massive dragon winced away from the blow and grabbed at Blackwargreymon with his free arm. The black armoured foe darted away from his grasp, and rose above him. Examon found that he was unable to get into the air because of the cramped street. Blackwargreymon formed a small ball of energy in his hands, red on the outside and orange at the center. He raised the ball over his head where it expanded to a massive size. 'Terra Destroyer' he roared, hurling the sphere at Examon.

Examon bent down in front of the others and folded his wings over the rest of his body. The energy sphere struck his wings and exploded, but he emerged unharmed. He then aimed Ambrosius at Blackwargreymon and shouted 'Dragonic Impact', firing off an energy bolt at him. He threw himself back down to the ground, completely avoiding the bolt.

"I can't hit him Daichi," called Examon, "he's too small."

"Unfortunately you have the opposite problem," taunted Blackwargreymon.

Blackwargreymon then called out 'Dramon Killer', charging Examon with his claws extended. He rammed straight into the larger dragon's chest, eliciting a painful grunt from him as he fell to one knee. The evil Digimon jumped back and scoffed at his massive opponent.

Meanwhile; inside the temple, Ren and Sealsdramon approached the altar at the rear wall. Upon this altar was a strange looking weapon. At first it appeared to be an oddly shaped spear, but the tip was made up of three prongs that featured joints. Further along its length were a small built in shield and a handle. This weapon was surrounded by a bright green aura.

Ren's Digivice shot a stream of green light at the altar, dispelling the aura around the weapon. Sealsdramon then walked up to the altar and read the inscription printed there; 'Gliepnir'.

"Well, here goes nothing," he said, slipping his arm into the shield brace and grasping the handle. He was immediately bathed in green light.

'SEALSDRAMON LEAP EVOLUTION!' He called out as the light enveloped him, 'DARKDRAMON!' Darkdramon was a robot roughly the size of a human adult. Gliepnir was mounted on his right arm while his left bore a gauntlet with a seam in it. His armour was a dark cyan colour with some red and yellow markings on it. His head was covered by a translucent visor and he had four tendrils on his torso that led out to his back. While Sealsdramon had been up at the altar, Ren had been observing the outside fight, which was not going well for Examon.

"He needs your help Darkdramon," called Ren.

"Right then," he replied as sparks shot from the tendrils on his back. Particles built up underneath the tendrils, forming a set of glistening wings. He then jetted out of the temple to join the fight.

Blackwargreymon was about to attack Examon again when he heard Darkdramon emerge from the temple. He turned to face him just as he popped open his left gauntlet, revealing a cannon. 'Lightning Cannon', called Darkdramon, launching a shell of plasma energy at Blackwargreymon. Blackwargreymon pulled the plate off his back and held it in front of him. The plate acted as a shield, deflecting the shell into a nearby building, where it exploded.

Before Blackwargreymon could gloat, Darkdramon held out Gliepnir and shouted 'Cyber Strike'. The top part of the weapon fired off, tethered by a long cable. Its point separated into three jointed barbs, giving it the appearance of a claw. Just as Blackwargreymon was returning the plate to his back, Gliepnir's claw latched onto him, holding him in place. Following this, Examon stood up and aimed Ambrosius at Blackwargreymon and fired off another energy round. This shot was not quite as powerful as the one before it though. Right before the shot impacted, Darkdramon withdrew Gliepnir's tip.

The force of the shot threw Blackwargreymon into a building behind the temple. He then fell from that building through the temple roof and crashed to the floor, unconscious. Examon and Darkdramon both returned to their Champion stages as the rest of the group scurried into the temple. They gathered around Blackwargreymon, whose armour was now covered with cracks and chips. Lopmon and Terriermon stayed at the temple entrance, wary of the unconscious Digimon.

"You said he used to be a good Digimon, right?" asked Ren.

"Yes," replied Sorcerymon, "he was a powerful warrior and protector of the weak."

"We believe he has been corrupted by a virus from the Demon Lords," added Wizardmon.

"Can you two heal him at all?" proposed Evan.

"Yeah, like you did with me before," piped in Betamon.

Wizardmon and Sorcerymon looked to each other with unsure looks on their face. Sorcerymon then shook his head and put on a determined look. Wizardmon nodded and returned the glance.

"For him, it would be a crime of us not to try," said Sorcerymon with a hint of pride. He and Wizardmon then stood at opposite sides of Blackwargreymon and held out then hands. They made several signs with their hands, which became bathed in a deep green light. The light crept onto Blackwargreymon and covered his body. When the glow faded, the damage to his armour was gone, and he opened his eyes.

"Urgh," he moaned, "my head. Where am I?"

"You are at a temple in the City Area," responded Sorcerymon. "Do you remember anything?"

"The last thing I recall is hearing a rumour about humans and then… black feathers." He sat up and brought a hand to his head. He looked taken aback when he saw his hand. "Why is my armour and skin tainted so?"

"You were infected by a virus from one of the Demon Lords, presumably originating from Beelzemon."

"We were able to heal you partially, but the power of the Demon Lords is too great for us alone to purge."

"I thank you for your attempt." Blackwargreymon then got to his feet.

"Why don't you join us," suggested Daichi. "We're currently working to defeat the Demon Lords and we could always use the extra help."

"Your offer is kind but I do not think it wise. If I still carry a virus from the Demon Lords, then I am a threat to you and your mission." He then walked to the door of the temple. He stopped to address Lopmon and Terriermon. "Little ones; with the weapon gone, this temple will no longer be of any interest to the Demon Lords or their servants. I believe it will make a good safe haven for you and any other friends you may have in hiding." With that he departed from the temple and disappeared into the city.

"Well then, on to our next destination," said Sorcerymon, pushing himself to his feet with his staff.

"No," responded Ren forcefully. "The strain of it could kill you. Between transporting us twice today and healing Blackwargreymon you have no strength left."

"Our lives are not important; you must hurry and collect the weapons."

"Actually you are important," noted Seiichi. "Who would transport us to the weapon temples if you died from exhaustion? It would end up taking much longer to find the weapons that way. You did say yourselves that we needed to hurry."

Sorcerymon bore a resigned look, and then chuckled. "He does have a point brother; they do need us, at least for now."

Wizardmon sighed; "I suppose you are right, but we cannot delay too long."

"Now that that's settled; who's hungry?"

**Authors Notes: **I think with Lopmon and Terriermon I have introduced a total of four sets of twins with one set of triplets. The four twins and Ayame and Seiichi, Coronamon and Lunamon (I count them as fraternal since they're the sun and moon), Wizardmon and Sorcerymon and of course Lopmon and Terriermon. The triplet set is of course the three Devimon. Also if anyone is interested, a total of 18 days have passed in the Digital World since the kids arrived there.

**Revision Notes: **Once again there isn't much to take note of. Wizardmon's dialect was already in the style I wanted in this chapter, and probably will be the same from here onwards. I reworded some parts of the fight to make the combatants more distinguishable; since they're all 'he's'.


	24. Ancient Guardians

Chapter 23: Ancient Guardians

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

After deciding to remain in the City Area temple to rest, Wizardmon and Sorcerymon ended up falling asleep due to their exhaustion. The children ate a meal consisting of what remained of the provisions they had been provided by Shakkoumon. After that, at the request of Lopmon and Terriermon, the children and their Digimon ventured out into the city to aide some other Digimon that were in hiding.

For the rest of the day they went around nearby regions of the city to a number of small hideouts. This time around, likely due to the commotion they had caused fighting Blackwargreymon; the children were unable to avoid the city patrols. Their primary opponent was a Champion level Digimon known as Tankmon. It consisted of a humanoid torso on top of a set of treads, with cannons in place of hands and another on its face. They appeared in great numbers, but were easily dispatched.

By the end of the day they had gathered together a dozen or so Digimon, including a pair of Gotsumon accompanied by a Meteormon. Meteormon was identical to Gotsumon, except that he was made of white metal instead of stone. Upon meeting this Meteormon, they found out that he had evolved from the same Gotsumon that had guided them through the desert. As the sun was setting, they brought the rescued Digimon back to the temple.

Upon returning to the temple, the children decided to get some rest themselves. They were awoken abruptly by Wizardmon and Sorcerymon. As it turned out, they had been rather exhausted as well, and had fallen into a fairly deep sleep.

"We must hurry," said Sorcerymon, "I'm afraid we have rested too long."

"It is already midday," added Wizardmon, "I was not aware we were so exhausted as to have slept that long."

"It shouldn't be that surprising," interjected Seiichi. "You were almost falling over from the transportations, let alone the effort you put forth to heal Blackwargreymon."

"Nonetheless, we must hurry."

The children and their Digimon, along with the two wizards, gathered together outside the temple. The Digimon they had rescued were stationed at the entrance to the temple to see them off. Meteormon, who was an Ultimate, had offered to protect the other, younger Digimon.

"Thanks a lot for helping us again," called Terriermon.

"We owe you some thanks as well for taking us through the city," responded Kioko. "We might have had a much rougher time of it without you."

"We would like to wish you the best of luck on your quest to defeat the Demon Lords," said Lopmon softly. "You have all of our hopes with you."

"We won't let you down," replied Daichi confidently.

"Don't worry about things here guys;" added Meteormon, "I'll look after the others."

"We'll be counting on you then."

With that, Wizardmon and Sorcerymon proceeded with the usual staff waving. The magic seal appeared again and encircled the group. The flashed brightly and when it faded, the group was gone.

"Do you really think they can do it?"

"For all our sakes, I hope so."

* * *

Once the group rematerialized, the children suffered an immediate loss of breath. The Digimon did not seem to be affected. The ground beneath them was rocky and uneven. From where they were, the group could make out the edge of a cliff. Once the children regained the ability to breathe normally, they stood up and observed their location.

"Where are we this time?" asked Daichi. His voice was somewhat hoarse.

"We are within the Eastern Range of the Mountain Area," replied Wizardmon. "I expect the altitude change was a bit shocking for you."

"How high up do you think we are?"

"The Eastern Range averages a few thousand feet in height. You might end up being short winded for a while."

"This plateau seems kind of small," commented Evan. "It's a wonder we can all fit on here."

In response to this, Firamon, D'arcmon and Coredramon took to the air.

"That should make things a bit less cramped," joked Coredramon.

"You can thank us later," added Firamon. "We'll go ahead and see if we can find the temple." The three of them then flew off in different directions along the mountainside.

"I wonder whose weapon will be here," pondered Ren.

"I just hope we don't get attacked while we're up here," said Hanae in a worried tone. "If we were to fall off, we could get really hurt."

Evan patted Hanae on the head, "Don't worry. We'll make sure that doesn't happen."

While the three Digimon were away searching for the temple, the remaining group members fashioned a sparse meal for themselves. Since they had shared much of their food with other Digimon, they were on the last of the stores they had been given by Shakkoumon. Wizardmon and Sorcerymon refused the food they were offered, claiming that they did not need it.

"How come you guys don't want anything to eat?" asked Hanae.

"You children require that food more than we do," replied Wizardmon. "We are well trained in the art of fasting. As such, we are able to survive without food for fairly long periods."

"That seems kind of weird," commented Betamon. "Why would you not want to eat for a long time?"

"We live in a desert," noted Sorcerymon. "Food there is scarce so we sometimes have to rely on very little sustenance. The food we gave you took us almost two months to gather."

"Wow really? I kind of feel bad now."

"You needn't let it bother you; we knew the importance of your mission and made the necessary sacrifices."

"We've been in the Digital World for less than three weeks," pointed out Seiichi. "How come you were preparing for us that far in advance?"

"We were asked by Shakkoumon to stock up on provisions, but not told why until you arrived here. He would have known you were coming, so it makes sense. He just doesn't like to share his knowledge unless it's absolutely necessary."

"There is a problem though: that was the last of the food we were provided. You may be able to fast for a long times, but we can't."

"For that I am sorry, but there is nothing we can do at present."

"You guys are too nice for your own good. You lost out on food for yourselves in order to help needy Digimon. Personally, I like that about you; even though you're new to this world, you truly care for those who inhabit it. You even undertook the task of fighting against the Demon Lords without any protesting. You kids really are something special."

"Well; to be perfectly honest this was like a dream for me," said Daichi. "I always wanted to be a big hero who saved the world."

The two wizards chuckled; "Well then let's hope that is what you shall become."

"What you mean I haven't earned that status already?"

The other children laughed, but they were interrupted by the return of D'arcmon and Firamon. They had respectively searched the peaks east and south of the one they were currently on. Unfortunately, they had not managed to find anything. After a few minutes more, Coredramon returned, bringing with him good news.

"I think I found the temple," he called out joyfully. "It was a cave that had the same obelisks that were on the outside of the other temples."

"That's better than nothing," said Seiichi, "but how shall we get there?"

"Leave that to me," smirked Daichi. He then brought out his Digivice and released Ambrosius. Coredramon took hold of it and evolved into Examon. He inched in close to the plateau in order to allow the others to climb onto him. Kioko and Seiichi were the exceptions, since they could ride on Hippogryphomon and Firamon.

When all of the others had climbed onto Examon's back, he turned and spoke to them; "I'm going to fly fairly slowly so you don't fall off, but it would best if you held on tight anyways." With that he took off from the plateau and flew east.

After a short while, Examon and the rest arrived at another plateau, this one larger than the first. Examon landed there and let the others off, and then degenerated back into Coredramon. Hippogryphomon also degenerated after dropping off Kioko, while Seiichi dismounted Firamon. At the interior edge of the plateau was a cave. The entrance of this cave indeed bore a pair of obelisks, as Coredramon had said.

Ren was the first to enter the cave. Right inside the entrance there was a stairwell leading downwards. Ren signaled for the others to follow behind him. Since Coredramon was too big to fit inside the cave, he and Daichi remained outside. Behind Ren and Sealsdramon, the other children and Digimon followed two at a time, with the wizards bringing up the rear. When Ren reached the bottom of the stairs he turned and called to the others.

"I don't think there's anyone down here."

Ren had spoken too soon, for as soon as he turned forward again, he found himself face to face with the tip of a blade. Sealsdramon reached for one of his knives but the Digimon holding the sword raised a hand bearing three talons up to him. This Digimon was humanoid in appearance and was lightly armoured. He had a pair of wings on his back, one of which bore black feathers while the other was metallic. He wore a mask on his face that looked like a crow's beak.

"Name yourself," said the Digimon bluntly.

"Put up your sword Ravemon, they are not our enemies," called a female voice. This voice carried with it a mysterious calming quality.

Ravemon lowered his clawed hand and sheathed his sword and gave the children a small bow. "My humblest apologies for threatening you. I am very wary of trespassers here; even more so since the Demon Lords escaped."

"Sorry for barging in unannounced then," replied Ren. "We just weren't sure who we would find in here. If it had been an enemy, we wouldn't want them to know we were coming."

Another Digimon walked out from behind Ravemon. Based on her shamanistic appearance, she had been the one speaking earlier. At first glance she looked human, but she bore a layer of fine black fur. She wore boots, gloves and a chest plate, all purple in colour and marked with yin and yang emblems. Much of her face was covered by a mask that looked like a wild fox. She had long silver hair tied into twin ponytails that hung down to her ankles. She carried a silver staff tipped with a large ring looped together with several small rings.

"Greetings Children of Virtue," she said warmly. "I am Kuzuhamon, servant of the Digital World."

Upon hearing her name, Wizardmon and Sorcerymon moved to the front of the group in order to get a look at her. Their faces were struck with awe at the sight of her. They immediately knelt before her.

"We were not aware that you still lived, Lady Kuzuhamon," they spoke in unison.

"You may rise. It is true that I have been here much longer than I perhaps should have been. However; I am still here because it is my purpose to be. I am just glad that Ravemon has stuck with me these many long years."

"It was my duty Kuzuhamon, but as well I was glad to be your companion."

"So, who are you two?" asked Ayame abruptly.

"Ravemon and I served the Benevolent Masters and have been around since the time of the Great War. Since then we have been here, carrying out our duty to protect these sacred weapons. We were entrusted to do so until such time as their rightful bearers came to claim them."

"Are they still here?" inquired Seiichi. "Our Digivices gave no reaction to them."

"That was my doing. I placed wards around this temple to prevent magical detection."

Kuzuhamon waved her staff once and the air inside the temple rippled. Ayame and Seiichi's Digivices immediately burst with flashes of pink and orange light respectively. Streams of that light shot from the Digivices to the back of the temple, where the weapons were hung on the wall. Both were long pole weapons, but the first one had no other features. The other bore a crescent shaped blade at either end.

"Those are Sol and Luna; twin weapons of the Sun and Moon. It seems that their rightful bearers have come at last."

Firamon and Lekismon walked to the back of the temple to claim their weapons. Lekismon laid a hand on Luna, the one that bore blades. 'LEKISMON LEAP EVOLUTION…DIANAMON!' she called. Dianamon looked much more human like than her previous forms. The helm she wore still bore a pair of prongs that resembled rabbit ears and a long pink scarf was draped around her neck. Attached to the armour on each of her shoulders was a pair of curved spikes that together gave the shape of a crescent moon. On each of her shins was a crescent shaped plate bearing a sleeping face.

After observing her new form, Dianamon degenerated to Lekismon and Luna was sent inside Ayame's Digivice. Firamon then grasped Sol with his teeth. "FIRAMON LEAP EVOLUTION…APOLLOMON!' he roared. Apollomon had lost most of his feline features, but still had a long mane of golden hair. Within his hair was a large ornament with a flaming orb at the center of it. The gauntlets he wore had bursts of fire coming from them. Apollomon also took a moment to look over his new form before returning to the Champion level.

"Now that that has been taken care of, I have a gift for you," said Kuzuhamon. She held up a sutra and spoke a brief chant. The sutra burst into thousands of glowing flower petals. The petals blew around the children and Digimon, causing them to feel refreshed and energized. "This enchantment should sustain you for a few days. I believe that should solve your food shortage problem."

"How did you know about that?" asked Seiichi.

"I know that which it is my purpose to know. Although I do not possess the clairvoyance that Shakkoumon had, I am sometimes prone to knowledge beyond my normal understanding. To Wizardmon and Sorcerymon I would like to express my condolences at the loss of their master. He was a great friend to me as well."

"Thank you," the two said together.

"I have one more piece of knowledge for you children before you depart. I wish to inform you that the eighth still lives."

"The eighth? Who do you mean by that?"

"Do you think it might be another member of the Benevolent Masters?"

Kuzuhamon shook her head; "Since the beginning there were only ever seven Benevolent Masters. There were also seven Demon Lords. I do not know who the eighth could be referring to."

"It's that other kid!" exclaimed Evan. The others looked at him in disbelief. "When we were originally brought here there were only seven human children in the Digital World. When Fellangemon abducted the other kid and brought him here, that made eight."

"We never saw him at the barrier though," Seiichi reminded him. "If he was there then the barrier came down, then there's no way he'd still be alive."

"We're still here," noted Ren, "even though we got in a direct confrontation with Lucemon."

"Before we spend too much time discussing this," interrupted Wizardmon, "We still have three more weapons to collect."

"My brother is right, we should get going."

The group quickly ascended the stairs and gathered out on the plateau. There they regrouped with Daichi and Coredramon, telling them about the weapons and the eighth child. Shortly afterwards, Kuzuhamon and Ravemon exited the temple as well. Kuzuhamon used another sutra, this one covering her, Ravemon, Daichi and Coredramon. She and Ravemon then walked to the edge of the plateau.

"Our task here is complete," she said in her mystic voice. "There is one more task ahead of us as well, so we shall depart from this place."

"What task is that?" asked Daichi.

"For now, that is only for Ravemon and I to know." With that, the two of them flew off away from the mountain.

The children gathered together on the plateau with their partners.

"Do you guys really think the kid that was with Fellangemon is still alive?" asked Ayame skeptically.

"If he is, then we need to hurry up and finish our business with the Demon Lords so we can go help him."

"I couldn't agree more," said Sorcerymon with a nod. The two wizards then waved their staffs with renewed vigour, creating another magic seal. Once more the seal lit up and then disappeared along with the group.

**Authors Notes: **Gasp, they managed to get two weapons without a fight? Don't worry there's still more action on the way. This is just the calm before the storm. Also I'm aware that you readers would know that Takeshi was alive, but the kids didn't. Now that they do, maybe they'll go rescue him. As for Kuzuhamon and Ravemon's task, that's for them to know and you to find out a few chapters from now.

**Revision Notes: **As you may or may not have noticed, I removed Deramon from the list of rescued Digimon. I did so because his inclusion in the story was utterly pointless. There were also a lot of spelling errors. I might have written this when I was tired, but it has now been fixed.


	25. The Rematch

Chapter 24: The Rematch

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

This time when the children left the transportation field their surroundings were quite familiar. They were back in the Forest Area, surrounded by tall trees on all sides. Now that they had come down from the mountains the children found it easier to breathe. Coredramon was slightly annoyed at the lack of room he was experiencing.

"It was easier to get around here when I was smaller," he complained.

"There are a lot of things worse than a bit of cramping," retorted Daichi. "If you were still small, the rest of us might have had a hard time getting around."

The other children laughed at their bickering, while Wizardmon and Sorcerymon looked about the area.

"I was never very familiar with the Forest Area," noted Sorcerymon. "It all looks the same to me."

"Then you should be grateful then, that I was sent here before instead of you, brother."

"The trees here look different from the ones near Seraphimon's palace," stated Seiichi. "We must be in another part of the forest."

"This is the southernmost part of the Forest Area. I know this because the vegetation here is unique to the warmer southern areas."

"Have you ever been here before?"

"No, but I learned much about the Forest Area from Shakkoumon. I had a knack for things like these. I was fortunate to learn the location of the temple here as well."

"I mostly served as Shakkoumon's scribe. My knack was more for organization and remembering details."

"So if you know the temple's location, what's keeping us?"

"Just a moment, I need to figure out our exact location. If I am correct, we shouldn't be that far away." Wizardmon then rose into the air and hovered above the treetops briefly. He looked around and then came back down. "Luck is indeed on our side today. The temple is a short distance south of here."

Wizardmon then began walking south, leading the others towards the temple. The distance between where they were and the temple was indeed short. It only took them a few minutes to reach it. There was a small clearing around the entrance. This temple was exactly the same as the others, save that the stone was yellow this time. When the clearing came into view, it was Hanae's Digivice that burst with light, bright yellow in colour.

"Hey, it looks like it's my turn to get one of those weapons," she said gleefully while hugging Dobermon.

Dobermon nuzzled her. "Good for you. With this I should be able to protect you from anything."

"Yup, that means it's good for you too."

"Do you want one of us to come with you?" asked Evan.

"No, I think it'll be okay. I don't see anyone around aside from us."

"Are you sure," persisted Ayame. "We would hate to see anything bad happen to you."

"I may be little, but I can't always rely on you guys to help me. I need to be able to do some things by myself."

Daichi smiled at Hanae and mussed her hair. "Atta girl, I'm sure you'll become really strong on your own."

With that Hanae walked into the clearing, followed by Dobermon. Just as they reached the temple doors, a voice called out 'Shock Net!' Streaks of lightning shot up out of the ground in between the trunks of the trees around the clearing. The lightning bolts traced up the trees and crossed over each other, turning the clearing into an electrified cage. The other children ran up to the clearing, but were stopped by the electricity. Daichi attempted to charge the cage, but ended up receiving a nasty shock.

"Are you alright Hanae?" called Ayame.

"Yeah I'm fine. I didn't touch the net," she responded.

Dobermon raised his hackles and growled; "There's something here."

At his words there was a slight rumble in the ground. Then, suddenly, a large axe burst forth from the ground, grasped by a green coloured hand. This hand had several metal bolts in it, one on each knuckle. The axe was laid on the ground as the arm pushed itself up with it. A small mound formed and then burst as the rest of the creature pulled itself out of the ground. Once it was out of the ground, the Digimon towered over Hanae and glared down at her. The rest of his body had bolts and other bits of metal stuck to it as well.

"Greetings Dobermon, we meet again," said the Digimon.

Hanae pulled out her Digivice and scanned this Digimon. The Digivice registered him as 'Boltmon', 'Mega', 'Data', and 'Thunder Tomahawk'. She then looked back at Boltmon, and began wondering how he knew Dobermon.

Dobermon snarled at Boltmon; "How do you know who I am?"

Boltmon chuckled, "I guess my new form isn't one you're familiar with. That being the case, perhaps this will jog your memory." Boltmon then moved his other arm to the side, revealing his chest. On his abdomen were three barely healed scars from what were obviously severe gashes. "You gave me these. Perhaps you'll remember now."

"You were the one in the forest on our second day here," blurted out Hanae. "You were the one who was hurting Wizardmon."

"You are quite correct little girl. After our little skirmish I returned to the Dark Area and told my master about you. He was impressed with my return, as I was the only Digimon who had fought against you children and lived. He then rewarded me with the power to evolve to this level and granted me the task of guarding this temple. I am very pleased, now that we get to have a little rematch."

"If you intend to hinder us then I shall have to destroy you." Dobermon then let out a howl and evolved into Cerberumon.

"I was hoping you'd say that." Boltmon took a step backwards and readied his axe.

"Go inside the temple and get the weapon. I'll hold him here."

Hanae nodded and ran over to the temple door. Boltmon made no move to stop her, focusing all of his attention on Cerberumon.

"It seems you've gotten a little stronger as well. That's good; I wouldn't have wanted this to be a complete slaughter."

Cerberumon hesitated briefly and then lunged at Boltmon. He held out his front claws and kicked his back legs for extra distance. Boltmon did not move from his current location. Instead he held his axe out, raising it in front of Cerberumon. His claws grazed the edge of the axe's blade, leaving small nicks in it. Unfortunately, Cerberumon's claws cracked from the collision with the axe. With a flick of his arms; Boltmon flung Cerberumon away from himself, breaking off the tips of his claws.

Boltmon lowered his axe and pointed the tip at Cerberumon, calling out 'Thunder Tomahawk'. A bolt of electricity shot out from the axe, shaped like a blade. Cerberumon responded by howling 'Emerald Blade', launching three balls of green fire at Boltmon. The two attacks collided in midair, exploding with a huge flash. When the flash faded, Boltmon charged at Cerberumon, swinging his axe forcibly.

Inside the temple, Hanae remarked at how it was exactly the same as the one from the city. Aside from the roof being intact, this temple was identical to the one in the city down to the smallest detail. She walked towards the altar at the back, where the weapon was housed. This weapon was a gauntlet with three long, sharp claws mounted on it. The claws were similar in design to the ones Cerberumon had on his feet. A bright yellow aura surrounded the claws.

Hanae observed the altar and read the inscription below the weapon: It read 'Amemit'. Her Digivice gave off a stream of light and dispelled the aura around the weapon. After that she stood on her tiptoes and reached for the claws. Just as she grabbed hold of the gauntlet, the doors to the temple were thrown open and Cerberumon leapt inside. All four of his claws were shattered and his body was riddled with deep cuts. He slowly backed towards Hanae.

"I'm sorry, I can't hold him any longer," he said before collapsing. After he fell, he turned back into Dobermon.

Boltmon kicked the door out of his way and sauntered into the temple. He hoisted his axe over his shoulder and held it there. His left arm hung limp with three sets of bite marks in his shoulder. He sneered at Dobermon and cracked his neck.

"That was pretty impressive for an Ultimate. Unfortunately, it's not quite good enough."

Hanae ran towards Dobermon and stood between him and Boltmon. She dropped the claw next to him and held her arms out as though to shield him. "Don't you touch him," she said in a demanding tone.

Boltmon smirked; "I won the duel and now I get the pleasure of finishing off my fallen opponent."

"I'm not going to let you hurt him. He's protected me many times, so now it's my turn."

Boltmon chuckled darkly; "What exactly do you plan to do against me?"

Dobermon twitched and raised his head towards Hanae. "Please Hanae, don't. He'll kill you."

Boltmon walked over to Hanae, dwarfing her by several feet. He swung his limp arm and knocked her to the side. Hanae was thrown against the temple wall and fell limply to the floor. Dobermon howled fiercely and kicked at the ground in anger. One of his front paws snagged the gauntlet of Amemit, causing a burst of bright light. Boltmon, blinded by the light, backed away from Dobermon.

'DOBERMON LEAP EVOLUTION!' He roared, 'ANUBISMON!' Anubismon, unlike his previous forms, stood on his hind legs. His head was that of a jackal, with a long black ponytail and a pair of tassels hanging past his shoulders. His body was adorned with several ornaments including a pair of cuffs on his upper arms, a sash around his waist and a brace on his neck. He had a pair of large, golden feathered wings on his back and his hands each bore three, clawed fingers. His right wrist bore Amemit while his left had a yellow jewel embedded in it.

Boltmon scowled at Anubismon and charged at him with his axe. Anubismon glared back but did not budge. When Boltmon was almost on top of him, bringing his axe forward, Anubismon slashed upwards with Amemit. The swing cleaved Boltmon's axe apart and threw him back outside through the temple.

Anubismon walked over to Hanae and picked her up in his left arm. The jewel in his wrist glowed softly and Hanae opened her eyes.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I think so," she said, "just a bit of a headache."

"I am glad to hear it. Thank you for trying to protect me, you were very brave."

"I didn't really do much though."

Anubismon simply smiled at her and then walked out of the temple. Outside, Boltmon was just getting to his feet, propping himself up on what remained of his axe. Anubismon set Hanae down and walked towards Boltmon.

"It looks like we get to finish our fight now. You're trapped in here until one of us is dead."

"We shall see who is trapped. Pyramid Prison!"

Anubismon held out the jewel in his left arm and a square of ground beneath Boltmon glowed brightly. From each side of this square a triangle rose up and folded inwards. The four triangles joined at the edges, trapping Boltmon inside a translucent pyramid made of yellow light.

Boltmon bashed his fists against the walls, attempting to break them. When his efforts proved futile, he smashed the broken handle of his axe against the pyramid in anger. Anubismon emitted a narrow, concentrated beam of light from the jewel which flew at the pyramid. When the beam connected with it, the pyramid flashed briefly and then shattered, along with its occupant. The shattered pieces then dispersed into streams of data.

As the net of electricity around the clearing dispersed, Anubismon reverted to Dobermon. Amemit, in the form of a small yellow sphere, entered Hanae's Digivice. As soon as the net was gone, the other children charged into the clearing. Hanae was checked over at least a dozen times by children and Digimon alike. Once the others were sure she was alright, they began to congratulate her.

"We saw you in action as Anubismon, you were great," exclaimed Betamon.

"Your Mega form is very impressive," added Coredramon.

"Thank you for your praise," replied Dobermon. "Hanae here deserves the credit though. She risked herself to protect me and, thanks to that, I was able to evolve and defeat Boltmon."

Daichi mussed Hanae's hair again. "See, told you that you would get strong."

"So, shall we get going?" proposed Coronamon.

In response, Hanae let out a long yawn and stretched.

"I believe it would be best if took some time to rest," said Dobermon. "Hanae took a rather nasty blow while we were in the temple. Even though she's fine now, I would still prefer some time for her to recover."

"It's getting kinda late anyways and we already picked up three weapons today. I say we call it a day."

The other children and Digimon nodded their agreement. Even Wizardmon and Sorcerymon agreed out of concern for Hanae's wellbeing. The group then proceeded into the temple to rest for the night.

**Authors Notes: **Tada; one more weapon, one more Mega. Only two left to go. You may have noticed that I made some slight changes to the attacks and designs of Anubismon. I again consider this to be a part of differentiating my version of the Digital World from the preexisting canon ones. I don't think they were all that drastic and I hope you won't hold them against me. As always, thanks for reading.

**Revision Notes: **This chapter once again showed me how much I seem to dislike using commas. Oh well, it's been fixed now.


	26. A Dangerous Game

Chapter 25: A Dangerous Game

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

The group awoke very early at the forest temple, with the sun barely peeking in through the open door. They were all still invigorated by Kuzuhamon's charm and were very eager to get going. Wizardmon and Sorcerymon were especially pleased with this turn of events and nodded a silent thanks to Kuzuhamon. The children quickly got their things together and gathered outside the temple.

"So, there are only two weapons left to get," said Daichi enthusiastically. "Whose do you think we're gonna get first?"

"I hope it's mine," replied Betamon. "Maybe if I get it, I can finally get rid of my evolution trouble."

"I hope so too Betamon, but even if yours isn't next it's not a huge deal," noted Evan. "Since there's only two left, we'll probably be getting both of them today anyways."

Betamon smiled widely and was having trouble containing his excitement.

Wizardmon chose that moment to provide an unfortunate truth; "The worst is still yet to come. After we have all of the weapons, you must still face the Demon Lords. Even with the power of the weapons, the fight will be difficult."

"My brother is right; you guys have a real tough time ahead of you. However; you are the Children of Virtue. You were chosen to save this world, and I have no doubt that you will. All of us good Digimon are behind you; there's no way you can lose."

"Well then let's get going."

With that, the two wizards waved their staffs enthusiastically. The now familiar magic seal once again appeared on the ground beneath the group. They were enveloped by its glow and whisked away to their next destination.

* * *

When the group arrived they were immediately struck by a cold breeze. They were standing on a large sheet of ice and there was a gentle snow falling around them. From where they were, they could see numerous small bodies of water containing chunks of ice of various sizes. The children and most of the Digimon couldn't help but shiver from the cold. Wizardmon, Sorcerymon and Firamon were the only ones unaffected.

"I'll give you three guesses where we are," muttered Daichi grumpily.

Hanae, completely missing Daichi's sarcasm, answered him. "Can all three of them be 'The Glacier Area'?"

"Yes we are in fact in the Glacier area," stated Wizardmon, "although you have already noticed that."

"This is the northernmost part of the Digital World," added Sorcerymon. "However, the Glacier Area is actually the smallest overall."

"Good, that means we can find the weapon quickly and get out of here."

The group then began to move along the ice flow. Thankfully that is was thick and solid enough to support all of them. Firamon suddenly found himself more popular than usual, as many of the others sought to gather around him. When asked why they could stand the cold, the wizards explained that they had been trained to withstand all sorts of harsh conditions, in addition to fasting.

"Heat, cold and starvation were the main things we were trained to withstand. Under non-stressful conditions we can also go for long periods without sleep," stated Wizardmon.

Sorcerymon chose to do a bit of gloating at that moment. "Living in a desert made the heat training easier than the cold. We could probably stand at the top of a volcano and not sweat a single bead."

"Careful brother; you might end up the next Demon Lord of Pride with that kind of talk." The children laughed at this and Sorcerymon promptly silenced himself.

Although the group was able to stave some of it off by continuing to walk, the cold was taking its toll. After half an hour of walking through the tundra, the children began to feel weak. None of them were properly dressed for this type of environment.

The group came to a stop and huddled together. Wizardmon produced a bottle of oil from his cloak and poured it over the ice. He ignited it with a spark of lightning and created a large, yet well controlled fire. The children and Digimon seated themselves around it and began to warm themselves.

"Thanks a lot Wizardmon," called Daichi. "I thought for sure we were all gonna get sick if we kept going like that."

"You are welcome," he replied. "Even though finding the weapons is important, your well being is even more so."

"Would this be a bad time to ask if anyone brought marshmallows?" asked Ayame jokingly. The children laughed, but the Digimon looked confused.

"What is a marshmallow?" inquired D'arcmon.

Kioko decided to give the explanation. "It's a type of desert food. Typically you eat them together with friends and roast them over a fire. They're very sweet."

"You can make s'mores too!" exclaimed Hanae.

"What are those?" asked Dobermon. He was sitting right next to Hanae to keep her warm.

"They're kind of like a candy sandwich. You put together graham crackers, chocolate and toasted marshmallows. I always loved eating them when I went to camp."

Before the Digimon could launch into another line of questioning about the food items, Kioko's Digivice gave off a bright flash of purple light. It continued to flash softly as the children looked around for the temple it indicated.

"Where's the signal coming from? We haven't moved for a little while."

"Over there!" called Seiichi, pointing towards a nearby body of water.

Floating towards the group on this body of water was a fairly large ice flow. Housed on top of the ice was the temple. This one, unlike the others, was made of ice instead of stone. The flow it was on continued drifting towards them until it collided with the sheet they were on, lodging itself there.

"Look's like this one is ours, D'arcmon."

"Aw no fair," grumbled Betamon.

Evan patted his head; "Don't worry buddy. Once Kioko gets her weapon, yours will be the only one left."

"You guys can stay here where it's warm. We'll go get it ourselves."

With that Kioko and D'arcmon approached the temple. It bore the usual pair of obelisks, but one of them had cracked and fallen over when it collided with the large ice sheet. Although it was made of ice, the temple was not transparent, and could not be seen into from the outside. Kioko tried to open the door, but it was painfully cold to the touch. D'arcmon, who was wearing gloves, pushed it open instead.

As soon as the two of them were inside the temple, the door closed behind them. A long block of ice fell from the side of the door frame and barred the doorway. From within the temple a voice yelled 'Trump Sword'. D'arcmon yanked Kioko to the ground as a pair of swords flew at them. The swords lodged themselves in the bar of ice, pinning it to the door. Kioko and D'arcmon quickly got to their feet and faced their attacker.

Kioko was tempted to laugh when she saw his appearance. The Digimon standing before them was absolutely clown-like in appearance. He had baggy green pants, a frilly red shirt and massively oversized yellow boots. On his head was a mask that was black on one side and white on the other, and underneath it was a shock of bizarrely styled hair. On his back were four swords in crossing sheathes. The hilt of each sword was shaped like one of the four suits in a deck of cards.

"Greetings," said the Digimon, "I am Piedmon. Welcome to my cozy little hangout."

D'arcmon ran out in front of Kioko and placed her hands on the hilts of her swords. "Do you serve the Demon Lords?"

"Well not all of them, but I do serve Lucemon. I suppose you're one of those human children we've all been hearing so much about."

"What of it if I am?"

"Well, Lord Lucemon asked me to guard this temple against intruders. He also recently sent word that, should I encounter one of these human, I am to kill them."

D'arcmon tightened her grip on the hilts of her swords.

"Now, now," said Piedmon, holding his hands empty out in front of him. "Let's not be so quick to rush into certain death. Allow me to speak my mind first."

D'arcmon was wary, but released her swords anyways.

"Thank you. Now, I have been in this temple since long before you humans arrived here. I must admit that in my solitude, I find myself quite bored. Since you are the first person to visit me here in such a long time, I feel it would be a waste to eliminate a chance at alleviating that boredom."

"What are you getting at?"

"It's quite simply really; I propose that we play a game."

"You want to play a game with us?"

"I'll even make it interesting. If you can beat me, then I'll let you have the weapon without any fuss."

While speaking, Piedmon gestured to the weapon at the back of the temple. The weapon was a massive sword with a triangular blade, along which twin coiling snakes were engraved. At the base of the hilt was a blunt ornament which also bore the image of twin snakes. Unlike the other weapons, which were on top of the altar or mounted on a wall, the sword was embedded in a small, raised part of the floor. The name on its mount was 'Gladius'.

"What happens if we lose?"

"Then I shall attack you and you'll really be no worse off than you are right now."

"I do not think we can trust him, Kioko. Be cautious."

"Maybe so, but I would really prefer to avoid a fight. Very well, I accept. What shall we be playing?"

Piedmon smiled and gave Kioko a short bow. "Thank you for accepting. Perhaps I shall really have some fun now." He gestured at his sleeves to indicate that there was nothing in them. He then produced a deck of playing cards, seemingly out of nowhere. He pulled the top card of the deck, which he showed Kioko to be the Joker. "I've always been a fan of the classics, especially when it comes to card games. Today we shall play one of my old favourites; Old Maid. The Joker shall act as maid. Is this acceptable?"

Kioko became somewhat wary; she had always had bad luck at Old Maid. Nonetheless she nodded to Piedmon, and gestured for D'arcmon to join her. All three of them sat down together. Piedmon shuffled the cards and dealt them out between the three players. Once they had picked up their hands, all three of them sorted their cards and threw pairs they had into a pile on the floor.

Once the pairs had been discarded, Piedmon was left with the most cards, and thusly the right to go first. Play passed to the left and Kioko took her turn, followed by D'arcmon. As the game progressed, D'arcmon was the first out, leaving Kioko in with Piedmon. Eventually it came down to Kioko holding one card and Piedmon holding two.

Kioko was holding onto the three of hearts. Piedmon's two remaining cards would have been the three of clubs and the joker. If she managed to pick the three, she would win. If she picked the joker, Piedmon would know which of her cards was which and would have won the game. She reached for Piedmon's cards, at first towards the right one. At the last moment she grabbed the left one and pulled it towards her. It was the three; she had won.

Kioko threw her final pair into the pile and gave a small leapt of joy. Piedmon stood up and, with a wave of his hands, gathered up the cards and stowed them away. He then gave Kioko a small round of applause.

"I must commend you; I have never lost a game before. Congratulations, the weapon is yours." He then walked off to the side and gave a sweeping bow to Kioko.

Kioko and D'arcmon then walked past him towards the altar at the back of the temple. D'arcmon heard a shuffling of fabric and a soft metallic rattle. She pushed Kioko forcibly to the floor as a sword flew past her. D'arcmon's back now bore a gash and several of her feathers fell to the floor. She turned and drew her swords, facing off with Piedmon, who was also holding one in each hand.

"You said you wouldn't attack us if I won the game," yelled Kioko while getting to her feet.

"Oh, so sorry about that. Unfortunately when I said that, you seemed to have missed something; I had my fingers crossed." Piedmon then let out a maniacal laugh.

"Kioko, stay down, I'll deal with him."

"This should be fun indeed. Although, I don't really think it will last long."

With that the two of them lunged at each other, crossing blades as they passed. D'arcmon smirked as a small tear appeared in the frill around Piedmon's neck. He, on the other hand, was far less impressed. The two turned and faced each other again, each taking up a fighting stance. They charged each other again and began to grapple.

As D'arcmon and Piedmon continued to fight, they traded multiple blows. Unfortunately most of those blows were received by her. Her arms and sides were covered with cuts and her feathers littered the floor. She panted heavily and dropped one of her swords, which shattered and then disintegrated.

D'arcmon placed both hands on her remaining sword and jumped at Piedmon. He caught her sword between the two of his, breaking off most of the blade. He then delivered a forceful kick to her gut, which threw her against the temple's back wall. He threw one of his swords at her, pinning her to the wall by her upper left wing. She screamed loudly at the pain caused by pinned wing.

Piedmon sauntered towards her and drew another sword from his back. He smirked wickedly as he approached the back wall. D'arcmon raised her head and glared defiantly at him. Her left hand gripped the hilt shard of her sword tightly as she raised it. She brought her arm behind her back and let out a painful howl as she thrust the blade upwards, cleaving off most of her wing. She fell to the floor with a sickly thud.

Piedmon began laughing at D'arcmon. "Are you trying to make this worse for yourself? The game is already over."

"I agree Piedmon," she replied, tossing aside the hilt shard, which then vanished. "However; you have lost." With the rest of her strength, D'arcmon grasped the hilt of Gladius and yanked it out of the ground. The blade erupted with a bright light that forced Piedmon to step back.

'D'ARCMON LEAP EVOLUTION,' she called out, rising to her feet, 'MINERVAMON!' Minervamon was slightly taller than D'arcmon and held Gladius in her right hand. In her left was a shield with twin snakes eating each other's tails decorating it, and a spike at the center. The helmet she wore, as well as a gauntlet on her right hand, bore a likeness to the head of a snake. She had long blue hair tied in a pair of braids at the back, with a pair of tassels hanging in front of her face.

Piedmon glared disdainfully at Minervamon; "It seems that I have spent too much time playing. I'm afraid that now I'm going to have to get serious."

Minervamon merely smirked at him in response, and readied her blade. Piedmon yelled out 'Trump Sword' and threw all four of his swords at her. Minervamon did not so much as flinch as the swords flew towards her. When they were inches away from her, she quickly spun in a tight circle, causing the swords to strike her shield and shatter.

Minervamon turned full circle and single handedly hurled Gladius at Piedmon. Piedmon was dumbfounded by her speed and strength, and was unable to move in the short time in which she attacked. Gladius passed cleanly through his body and he laughed maniacally as his data dispersed. Gladius continued to fly after slaying Piedmon and lodged itself in the temple door. The door cracked and fell to pieces and Gladius fell to the ground.

Minervamon walked back over and picked up her sword before degenerating into D'arcmon. Although all of her other wounds had healed, D'arcmon's wing had not reappeared. She fanned her wings out and held her upper right wing more towards the center of her back it make up for it. Kioko ran over to her and hugged her tightly.

"I thought you were a goner there for sure," she said.

"To be perfectly honest, so did I. I never would have imagined I'd be crazy enough to cut off one of my own wings."

"Will it ever grow back?"

"It might, should I find a very powerful healer. For now I shall wear it as a reminder, so that I never make another reckless decision like that again. I will never again try to fight against a Mega level while still at the Champion stage."

Kioko released D'arcmon from her embrace when she heard footsteps coming towards them. Upon seeing the temple door collapse, the children had run over to make sure the two of them were alright. There was a collective appearance of shock on their faces upon seeing the three winged D'arcmon.

"What happened to your wing?" asked Hanae, in a highly concerned tone.

"It was an unfortunate loss," replied D'arcmon. "However; I survived and we have obtained the weapon."

"That must have been a really nasty fight," muttered Daichi. "Are you sure you're going to be alright?" The other children murmured similar expressions of worry.

"I am well enough to travel and that is good enough. We have one last weapon to obtain and we would do best to hurry."

"D'arcmon is right," stated Wizardmon, "she is in good health now. Should her injury cause problems, Sorcerymon and I shall tend to her. For now, we must make haste and obtain the final weapon."

The group reluctantly exited the temple, concern for D'arcmon still weighing heavy on them. Nonetheless, they proceeded to gather together in order to leave. The two wizards waved their staffs once more and the group was transported by the magic seal.

**Author's Notes: **As you may have noticed, this was my most violent chapter to date. Fellangemon's death ranks a close second. The violence in this story will likely never exceed this level, although I think I have one more fight that reaches this level coming up. Despite this I still think my story is relatively tame, as there is no blood or gore, and very little foul language. You readers are free to disagree but I just thought I'd express my thoughts on the level of violence in this story.

**Revision Notes: **Once again the only major problem seems to be a lack of commas. I also noticed a couple of flaws with Piedmon's manner of speech, but they have been fixed as well.


	27. Data of the Deep

Chapter 26: Data of the Deep

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

When the group exited the transportation field this time, they felt like they had been thrown into an oven. They presently found themselves back in the Desert Area, where the dry heat was such a drastic change from the freezing cold of the Glacier Area. After getting over the temperature shock, the group took a moment to observe their location. They were in close proximity to a collection of broken stones. Upon a bit of walking and further inspection, the children found these to be the same ruins they had been shown by Gotsumon before.

"I thought something seemed familiar about this place," muttered Evan.

Hanae checked with the others to make sure they were thinking the same thing; "This is where Gotsumon took us during that sandstorm right?"

"Yup, looks like it. I wonder why we ended up back here though."

"I agree," piped in Betamon, "why would my weapon be in the middle of the desert?"

"Perhaps whoever originally hid the weapons thought a desert would be the last place anyone would look for an aquatic weapon," proposed Seiichi.

"So, is the temple somewhere in these ruins?"

"I don't think so; my Digivice isn't giving a reaction."

"Then where do you suppose it is?"

"I imagine it would be at the river that's near here," suggested Sorcerymon.

"That is a sensible conclusion," replied Wizardmon. "That river is a unique occurrence here in the desert. Its unusual depth, width and current strength would make it an excellent location to hide something."

"You guys passed it before, when you were here the first time, didn't you?"

"Yes we did. It was at that river that Evan unleashed his virtue for the first time."

"Is that so? Did you manage to recover your missing data?"

"We thought so at first, but when we tried later Betamon still wasn't able to evolve properly."

"Maybe we left some of it behind."

"If that's the case then we have all the more reason to hurry."

Without another word, the group departed for the river. Daichi suggested that they fly there on Examon. Although it would have been faster, Wizardmon and Sorcerymon wanted to avoid attracting any more unwanted attention. They did not want the Demon Lords or their servants to know that the children had gathered the weapons yet. Thusly, the group proceeded on foot.

It took the group about an hour to reach the river from where they had first appeared. Once they arrived, Betamon felt a tingle down his back. He jumped out of Evan's arms and dashed to the side of the river. The look on his face showed pure excitement. Before anyone could say anything he jumped into the river. When he surfaced, he had evolved into Seadramon.

"It's here!" he called excitedly. "The rest of my data is still here!"

The others ran close to the river, with Evan going right up to the edge. "That's great," he said, smiling broadly. "Can you tell where it is?"

"Not exactly, but I think it's pretty deep down; probably at the bottom."

"How do you think it got down there?"

"It probably got separated from the rest before I could upload it. At least with WaruSeadramon gone, we shouldn't have to worry about any interruptions."

Evan stepped back from the river and rejoined the others. Then, remembering their original reason for coming here, pulled out his Digivice. As soon as he did, it emitted a stream of bright red light. The stream jumped from his Digivice into the river. Seadramon watched as the stream flowed deeper into the river until it was out of sight. Shortly afterwards a small amount of the light returned and attached itself to his head.

"Well; it looks like we'll be killing two birds with one stone here," stated Kioko. "I wonder what the light on his head is for though."

"I imagine that it will guide him to the weapon," mused Wizardmon. "Just like the pathway of light that lead us to the temple in the city."

"Well; I'd best hurry and go get that weapon. Wish me luck guys, and make sure you keep Evan safe while I'm gone."

"We will," responded Coredramon. "Just make sure you come back whole this time."

Seadramon chuckled and then dove beneath the surface. He decided to descend to the bottom of the river, since that was likely where the weapon would have been stashed. He also hoped that it was where his data had drifted to. As he descended into the river he remarked at how deep it was for being in a desert. The small orb of light on his head emitted a circle shaped pulse of light. After a while another circle returned into the orb.

The deeper Seadramon dove, the more frequent the pulses became. When he finally reached the bottom of the river he began to slink along the riverbed. At first when he proceeded, the pulses grew farther apart. After he turned around and swam in the other direction, they began to speed up again. In addition to the pulses, the orb was now emitting a ray of light in front of him, allowing him to see where he was going.

Seadramon didn't swim that far from where he had been, when he saw another small point of red light. Whenever the one on his head emitted a pulse, it went into that orb before returning to him. The light from the floating orb illuminated the temple. However, this time it was not a temple; merely a pair of obelisks and an altar built into the side of the riverbed. Upon this altar was a golden ring that bore several silver spikes. There was also a pair of fin shaped blades on either side.

Seadramon approached the altar and was about to grab the weapon with his tail, when a weird tingle came to him again. It was the same feeling he had felt when he had been near WaruSeadramon. Another soft blue light appeared a short distance from where he was. Seadramon threw himself downwards as a voice called out 'River of Power', and a beam of light shot past him. After firing the beam, the voice chuckled cruelly at Seadramon.

The source of the voice moved towards Seadramon. It was another massive sea serpent with pale grey skin. Much of his body was covered with pale yellow armour, off of which jutted several blade like fins and small spikes. Most of his head was covered with a helm, made from the same metal that covered the rest of his body. The front of this helm was a large energy cannon, on top of it was a blade and coming out the back of it was a mess of oily purple hair.

Seadramon growled at the newcomer, who unmistakably held the rest of his data. "Who are you?"

The other serpent chuckled; "We have met once before, at this same location. However; I am now far stronger than I was then. Behold; I am now Metalseadramon!"

"WaruSeadramon? How did you survive?"

"In a sense, I didn't. After you defeated me, my data was separated. You took back most of what had come from you. However, by some odd chance, I retained my consciousness. Perhaps it was because my power came directly from one of the Demon Lords directly. While I was drifting I came across this altar and knew you would be coming back."

"How did you get your body back?"

"That was the easy part. With all the evil Digimon you and your friends were destroying, there was plenty of extra data drifting around. All I had to do was gather it up. As an added bonus, since I had less of your data the power from Lord Leviamon was less inhibited, and I became more powerful than before."

"I suppose you want to kill me then?"

"Oh no, more than that; I want to make you suffer. Before I kill you, I'm going to eliminate that human child you're so fond of."

Seadramon roared fiercely at Metalseadramon and called out 'Ice Blast'. The shards of ice slammed into Metalseadramon and shattered harmlessly. Metalseadramon chuckled and yelled 'River of Power' again. Before he could fire, Seadramon swam up and rammed into him. The impact threw his head backwards and caused his attack to shoot upwards. He glared at Seadramon with a mix of hatred and amusement.

"You really need to watch that temper of yours. If you're not careful, it's going to get you into trouble."

Metalseadramon then moved to charge Seadramon. Before he could however, he felt something catch onto him. He looked behind him and saw the claw of Gliepnir latched onto one of his tails. He used the blade on his head to slash at the cable connecting to Gliepnir. In doing so, all he managed to accomplish was to put a dent in his blade. Seadramon took this opportunity to swim back to the altar.

Metalseadramon moved to stop him, but was held fast by Gliepnir. Seadramon reached the altar and slipped the ring onto his tail, which caused a bright light to flare up. 'SEADRAMON LEAPT EVOLUTION! GIGASEADRAMON!' Gigaseadramon was even larger than Metalseadramon. Where Metalseadramon had some flesh showing, Gigaseadramon was completely coated with bright yellow metal and a silver underbelly. He also had bladed fins, some of which bore flashing green lights, and two of them on the side of his head also had turbines in them. He did not have a cannon attached to his helmet; instead having a glowing energy orb in the back of his mouth.

Metalseadramon gritted his teeth and gave a mighty heave of his tail. He pulled it free, but in the process stripped off the armour plates covering the tip. He grunted painfully as Gliepnir retracted, taking the piece of armour with it. He snarled at Gigaseadramon and unleashed another blast of energy. Gigaseadramon took the attack full on and allowed it to explode in his face. Metalseadramon smirked, but it was wiped away when Gigaseadramon emerged completely unharmed.

Gigaseadramon roared out 'Plasma Torpedo', firing a massive bolt of green energy from his mouth. Metalseadramon attempted to swim away, but it was difficult to maneuver in the narrow bottom of the river. The torpedo swerved and struck Metalseadramon's head and exploded much like his own attack had. When Metalseadramon emerged, the cannon on his helm had collapsed on one side and his horn blade had broken off. He panted heavily and glared coldly at Gigaseadramon.

Gigaseadramon paid him no mind and fired up the turbines in his fins. At the same time his flashing lights became constant and intensified their glow. He called out 'Razor Current' and swam past Metalseadramon at an incredible speed. Metalseadramon seemed to be unharmed at first, and was about to begin laughing. He was cut short when segments of his body began separating along very straight, thin cuts. As each segment separated it burst into fragments of data. Gigaseadramon made sure to absorb every last bit of data from Metalseadramon, in order to make sure he got all of his back. He then roared triumphantly and shot towards the surface.

When he arrived at the surface he looked down to see Darkdramon and Minervamon along with everyone else. Minervamon had apparently held Darkdramon in place while Metalseadramon was struggling against the grip of Gliepnir. After seeing Gigaseadramon the two of them smiled at him and reverted to their Champion forms. Gigaseadramon on the other hand, did not degenerate.

Evan had been holding out his Digivice, expecting to receive the weapon in the same way the others had. When it didn't happen, he looked puzzled. "What's up Gigaseadramon? How come you're still a Mega?"

"I'm not sure; all I did was absorb Metalseadramon's data."

"I guess that means you got the rest of yours back then."

"Perhaps that is why you have not degenerated," suggested Wizardmon. "You took back the rest of your own data and became complete. After that, the extra data from Metalseadramon gave you the power to retain your Mega form."

"That reminds me; how did you guys know I was fighting down there?"

"Well; we don't know exactly what happened, but we found out there was a fight going on when that big laser beam shot out of the water."

"I used my cybernetic eye to see to the bottom of the river," stated Sealsdramon. "After we found out what was going on, we came up with the idea of holding him so you could get your weapon."

"Well; you have my thanks."

"Could we have your attention please?"

Wizardmon and Sorcerymon had stepped away from the group, and had very solemn looks on their faces.

"Now that you have gathered together all of the weapons, the time has come to face the Demon Lords. However; there is some unfortunate news to go along with that."

"To face the Demon Lords, the seven of you must separate and fight them individually."

"That doesn't make much sense," protested Seiichi. "If we are to defeat the Demon Lords, then wouldn't we stand a much better chance of doing so if we stuck together?"

"I am afraid that this is not the case. Shakkoumon told us of everything that must be done if the Demon Lords are to be defeated."

"Why do we have to split up then?" asked Kioko.

"The Demon Lords are, and always have been, the strongest evil Digimon in existence. Their powers are god-like and they transcend all normal Digimon. It was all the Benevolent Masters could do to seal them away for as long as they did."

"In the time that they have been imprisoned, the Demon Lords' Strength would have diminished significantly. However, it would not take them long to regain their full power if they went unopposed. We were anxious about gathering the sacred weapons quickly because we feared the power they could regain."

"You saw that even just after he was released, Lucemon was able to defeat all of you single handedly. Now that you have the power of the sacred weapons, you have a chance to defeat them. However; as Shakkoumon said, the power of Digimon and human must come together to defeat the Demon Lords. The only way for you children to complete the human part of this combination is to take on this final task alone."

"If we have to, then I guess it's for the best."

"Fortunately, you shall not be going completely unaware of what you shall be facing. Daichi, as the Child of Diligence you shall be facing Belphemon; the Demon Lord of Sloth. Ren; you are the Child of Balance, and must oppose Beelzemon of Gluttony. Ayame the Pure, you must face Lilithmon the Lustful. Seiichi the Patient, you must face Daemon the Wrathful. Hanae the Generous, you must face Barbamon the Greedy. Kioko the Humble, you shall go against Lucemon the Vain. Lastly; Evan the Kind shall face Leviamon the Envious."

"Great," muttered Gigaseadramon, "I have to fight the big one."

"The power of your virtues, coupled with the Digimon's strength, will allow you to defeat the Demon Lords once and for all."

"Seraphimon, Shakkoumon and everyone else believed in you. It gives me great pride to say now that we believe in you as well, with all our hearts."

All of the children were blatantly disappointed with the fact that they had to separate. Nonetheless they nodded to the wizards, understanding the importance of their separation.

"Now that you are all aware of what we must do, we shall return to Shakkoumon's home. We shall rest until tomorrow and then we shall use the rest of our power to transport you each to your respective battles."

"I'd just like to add one thing," interrupted Daichi. "After we've all finished dealing with the Demon Lords, I want to meet up at the Dark Area."

"Why would you want to meet up there?"

"That other kid; Kuzuhamon told us that he was still alive. If he really is alive, then we need to save him. He was at the barrier when the Demon Lords emerged, so I imagine he's still somewhere in or around the Dark Area."

"I agree," said Evan, "we should always help someone in need if we can."

"We're in too," added Ayame and Seiichi.

"Alright then, after we finish the Demon Lords off, we meet up at the Dark Area as soon as possible. Whoever gets there first is to wait no more than three days. If more than that passes, start looking for the kid on your own, regardless of how many of us have shown up."

The children nodded their agreement. They then gathered together again with their partners and the two wizards. Gigaseadramon was able to use his turbines to hover above the ground, and coiled himself so as not to take up too much space. The wizards waved their staffs, and the group returned to Shakkoumon's home to rest before their next battles.

**Authors Notes: **Yay, we have all the weapons now! It's time to go kick some Demon Lord Butt. Will they be able to defeat the Demon Lords? You'll find out starting next chapter. Also I'm aware that Metalseadramon's death closely resembled Machinedramon's from Adventure 01. Just so you know; I did that on purpose because I thought the delayed slicing was a cool effect. As for Takeshi, you'll also be hearing from him again soon.

**Revision Notes: **Nothing but grammar modifications this time.


	28. Clash of the Titans

Chapter 27: Clash of the Titans

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

Their last night at Shakkoumon's old home was a restless one for the children. They were very anxious about the coming day, in which they would be facing the Demon Lords. They somehow managed to get to sleep after preparing a meal from what few provisions remained there. Their sleep was not very restful, as it was plagued by dark dreams. Twice during the night Hanae woke up screaming, and had to be comforted by Ayame or Kioko before returning to sleep.

The children awoke early and reluctantly. Wizardmon and Sorcerymon greeted them with a small bundle of rare desert fruit they had gathered during the night. The children and their Partners ate their meager breakfast and then gathered outside in the desert. Once there, the children released the sacred weapons, and their Digimon evolved to their Mega stages. Gigaseadramon was the exception, as he had remained in his Mega form the entire time.

Wizardmon and Sorcerymon were the last to exit the underground temple. When they emerged, they faced the children and their Digimon, who in turn faced towards them. The two wizards did not look sullen or forlorn, but instead looked at the children with pride in their eyes. This look of pride cheered the children up somewhat.

"Before you depart there is something we would like to say," began Wizardmon. "On behalf of all the Digimon here in the Digital World, we would like to thank you. Both for the services you have rendered, and the great ones you are about to perform."

"We would also like to thank you simply for being here," continued Sorcerymon. "Although we have lost some friends along the way, without you those losses would have been much worse. Remember; while you are fighting the Demon Lords, that the entire Digital World is behind you and believes you will prevail. Thank you; we wish you the best of luck."

Daichi also spoke up at this time. "I just wanna say that it's been great traveling with you guys. I really hope we can all meet up again soon."

"I'm really glad I decided to take that study break," piped in Kioko. "If I hadn't, then I never would have met you guys and learned all of the things I did here."

"I also feel that I owe you all some thanks," stated Ren. "Because of my experiences here, I think I shall return home a little wiser."

"I think it would be great if we could all keep in touch when this is over," suggested Evan. "Even if I go back to America, I'll always be there for you guys."

Seiichi and Ayame spoke up together. "I am very pleased to have met you all," he said. "It's been a lot of fun," she finished.

Hanae chose to speak last. "I'm really thankful that you guys were all there to look after me while we were here. If it's okay with you, I'd like for us to stay friends. I'd also like to give you a gift to show my thanks."

Hanae nodded to Anubismon who raised his left hand. The jewel in his wrist lit up and bathed the group in a soft yellow light.

"I'm not sure if it will be as potent as Kuzuhamon's work," he said. "However, it should be enough to keep you energized for the battles ahead of us today."

The group let out a unanimous declaration of thanks to Hanae and Anubismon. They said one last round of farewells and then gathered around the two wizards. The two of them waved their staffs once more to create the magic seal. This time however, the seal split into seven separate parts. Each part glowed in a bright light that matched the colours of light given off by the children's Digivices. The children held out their Digivices and stepped into their respective portals alongside their Digimon. Once they had all entered the portals, they were transported away simultaneously.

After the children departed, Sorcerymon and Wizardmon spoke with each other;

"I really hope that they will be alright," said Wizardmon.

"Don't worry about it bro," replied Sorcerymon. "If anyone can pull this off, they can. We just have to believe in them; like Shakkoumon and Seraphimon did."

"You are quite right, brother. However, I am also disappointed that our role has come to an end."

"For now, at least."

* * *

When Daichi emerged from his portal, he found that he was once more within the Forest Area. Looking around he saw that the trees were different from the ones near Hanae's temple, but still seemed familiar. Upon a bit of inspection, he found a tropical flower, similar to one he had seen when they first entered the forest. Examon towered behind him, observing the forest from above. He was taller than some of the trees, but for the most part was still below the canopy.

"Looks like we're back where we started," he said, with a slightly annoyed tone.

"It just means that Belphemon is somewhere in this area," replied Examon. "He shouldn't be that hard to find though; he's as big as I am."

"Yeah, but why should we waste time looking, when we can make him come to us."

"How do you suppose we do that?"

"Simple; we just need to get his attention. Make some noise, maybe blow something up. The light show from the portal might have already let him know we're here."

"What shall we do when we actually encounter him?"

"I was hoping to leave that up to you. I figured you'd attack him or something."

Examon let out a great, roaring laugh. "That's just like you Daichi. Frankly that works for me; I never cared much for planning either. However, I think it would be best if we took the fight to him."

"Why's that?"

"If we find him before he finds us, then we can attack first. With any luck that'll give us an advantage. Plus, he probably won't be looking for us anyways, since Lucemon was supposed to kill us. If he really is as vain as they say, then he wouldn't have told the other Demon Lords anything concerning failure on his part."

"Well; since you're doing most of the work, you get the final say."

"Alright then, hop on. I want you to stick close; it'll be safer that way. Make sure you hold on tight though; it'll probably be a bumpy ride."

Daichi nodded and climbed onto Examon's back. He moved up over his wings to his shoulders. He positioned himself between the spikes there, using them as a makeshift safety cage. Once Daichi was secure, Examon roared and gave a might flap of his wings. At first he rose gently, but after his feet left the ground he threw himself well above the tops of the trees. He gave another roar and gazed out over the forest.

Once Examon was above the trees it did not take him long to find Belphemon. From where he was he could see the hill upon which Seraphimon's castle had once stood. At present, Belphemon was amusing himself by tearing down what remained of it. Examon stayed low above the forest's canopy and glided towards the mound. As he got closer he was able to see past Seraphimon's castle, where much of the forest was laid to waste. Bands of dead trees and areas of complete desolation were everywhere.

Examon glared at Belphemon's careless destruction with disdain. He brought forward Ambrosius and charged it with energy. Without calling anything out, he discharged a bolt straight at Belphemon. The bolt struck Belphemon's side and caused him to fall on top of the castle ruins. Belphemon stood up, bearing a look of fury on his face. He let out a roar and an orb of black energy formed in his mouth. From this orb, Belphemon unleashed a stream of pure black energy.

Examon swerved to the side as the stream cut through the forest. Wherever the stream coursed, the forest was torn apart. In the direct path of the stream, a deep swath was cut into the ground and everything along the line of fire was obliterated. Off to the side of the stream, the excess dark energy caused the vegetation to die off. Examon flew right up to the hillside and then upwards, bringing himself level with Belphemon.

Belphemon sneered when he saw Examon. "Oh, so that was you. It seems that Lucemon is not as competent as he would have had us believe."

"Told you," muttered Examon.

"So; based on the fact that you fired first, I imagine you're not here to surrender."

"You wish," called out Daichi. "We're here to take you down once and for all."

Belphemon let out a disdainful laugh; "You? Defeat me? I am one of the Demon Lords; Dark Gods of the Digital World. This world belongs to us, and you are nowhere near strong enough to stand in our way."

"We'll see about that; Dragonic Impact!" roared Examon, firing another shot at Belphemon.

Belphemon was struck in the arm by the attack, but seemed more annoyed than hurt by it. He jumped up and backwards, flying above the ruins of the castle. He called out 'Lampranthus' and unleashed another massive stream of dark energy. Examon quickly ascended to avoid the attack, which tore through the hill. When the attack ceased, the hill and all the remains of Seraphimon's castle had been annihilated.

"Daichi, we need to get him up higher. If we keep fighting down here, he'll tear apart the rest of the Forest Area and everything in it."

"Alright then, up it is. Just be careful; I don't want you to get blown apart either."

Examon smirked and flapped his wings with all the force he could muster. He shot into the air, and continued ascending until he passed through a low flying cloud. Belphemon roared and gave chase, firing at Examon as he flew. He lost track of Examon when he entered the clouds, but continued flying after him.

When Belphemon broke through the cloud, he found himself staring straight down Ambrosius' tip. Examon roared and fired directly into Belphemon's face. The attack did not connect, as Belphemon had grabbed hold of Ambrosius and forced it away from him. He was forced to quickly release his grip on the weapon, as touching it burned his hand. He and Examon hovered across from each other in midair briefly before he began to laugh malevolently.

"I shall admit, you're stronger than I expected. Nonetheless; this has grown tiresome."

Before Examon could make a move, Belphemon grabbed hold of his free arm and thrust the claws of his other hand into his gut. Examon gritted his teeth and grunted painfully, glaring at Belphemon. He smirked in response and opened his mouth wide, revealing another deep black orb. Examon panicked, because the shoulder bearing Daichi was directly in the line of fire. With a mighty heave he pulled himself free of Belphemon's grip, although it left him with several gashes on his abdomen. Examon turned himself full circle and spread his wings out as wide as he could, just as Belphemon unleashed his attack.

Examon howled as Belphemon's attack broke over his back in waves. The force of the dark stream's impact threw him to the ground, where he crashed with a sickening thud. He rolled over onto his charred back and twitched involuntarily. Belphemon landed a short distance away from Examon and glared down at him.

"Do you see now the difference between us, vermin? Perhaps I should offer you another chance to surrender. That way, I can kill you without any of this pointless fuss."

Examon tilted his head towards Daichi; "I'm sorry Daichi, I don't think I can beat him."

"Don't give up just yet Examon," replied Daichi. "Remember what will happen if this guy is allowed to continue his rampage."

"I know that he must be stopped, but his strength is so overwhelming."

"Then we'll just have to show him that we're stronger together than he is by himself."

"But if we keep this up, I'm not the only one who's going to get hurt. I couldn't forgive myself if I let anything happen to you."

"That doesn't mean we can go giving up just yet. I'm willing to take a risk this time; the entire Digital World is counting on us. However; even I now know when enough is enough. I say we give this one more shot. If we can't beat him, then we'll get away and come back with a proper plan."

Examon smiled; "If you say so. Just don't go blaming me if you get fried."

A bright blue light flared up from Daichi's Digivice. Belphemon shielded his eyes from the light while Examon got to his feet. Examon couldn't move his wings at this time so he was forced to stay on the ground. Realizing this, Belphemon prepared to take off into the air. Before he could, a stream of blue light shot out from Daichi's Digivice port.

The beam struck Belphemon square in the chest and he let out a ferocious howl. A light blue aura began pulsating around him. He suddenly felt like he was carrying hundreds of times his own weight. He fell to his knees, feeling as though he would be crushed by whatever was weighing on him. He attempted to hold himself up by planting his arms firmly on the ground, but felt his strength leaving him.

"What is this power?!" he exclaimed. "What happened to my strength? What did you do to me?"

Daichi smirked at Belphemon from Examon's shoulder. "I have no idea, but it's nowhere near as bad as what we're about to do. Get him Examon!"

Examon stepped towards the disabled Belphemon, raising Ambrosius as he did. The tip of Ambrosius spread further apart and a small energy orb formed between the two points. With a powerful thrust, he rammed the tip into Belphemon, eliciting another howl from him. Examon then roared out 'Pendragon's Glory!', and unleashed a massive stream of energy from Ambrosius. The beam passed cleanly through Belphemon and shot skyward after emerging from his back, tearing apart his wings. When the beam died down, Examon retracted Ambrosius, revealing a gaping hole in Belphemon's body.

Belphemon snarled violently at Examon, but was still unable to move. He let out one final howl as his data came apart and scattered away. Examon roared triumphantly before falling onto his back again. He panted heavily but continued smiling as Daichi climbed down from him.

"We did it!" exclaimed Daichi, also panting. "We beat a Demon Lord."

"Thanks for deciding not to give up," breathed Examon. "What exactly did you do it him?"

"I have no idea, but I guess it's what Shakkoumon was talking about. You know; that whole humans and Digimon working together thing."

"Well whatever it was, it did the trick. I just hope the others can pull off some similar miracles."

"Speaking of the others; do you mind if we wait until tomorrow to head back to the Dark Area? Once my wings heal, I'll be able to fly us there in no time."

"Well it's not like we really have a choice. It would take us days on foot and the others would leave before we got there."

"Thanks buddy."

"No problem." The two of them then passed out together.

* * *

Takeshi sat curled up in the fetal position inside the dim pink sphere. He could see out through the translucent sphere, but there was very little to see. He was surrounded by darkness all around; floating in a sea of nothingness. The darkness was only periodically broken when a trickle of particles floated by. At first he had struggled against the sphere, trying to break out, but had long since given up. He had no idea how long he had been floating in that sphere, and was on the verge of no longer caring. The Digivice lay tossed to his side.

"Man, how could I be so stupid," he said to himself. "Not only did I let that guy trick me, I unleashed those horrible monsters. Now that those things are on the loose, who knows what kind of terrible things they've been doing."

Takeshi slammed his fist against the side of the sphere and yelled angrily. His outburst was short lived and he began muttering to himself again.

"I can't even imagine the kind of panic my parents are going through right now. First Chie gets sick and then I go missing."

Takeshi sighed again when he thought of Chie. "Poor Chie, she's already sick and now she's going to be worried too. If only there was some way I could get out of here. Maybe there would be a chance for me to set things right."

The screen on the Digivice blinked once and then faded again. Several streams of particles joined together outside the sphere. Takeshi looked up when a voice suddenly called to him from outside the sphere;

"Would you take that chance, if you could?"

**Author's Notes: **Yay, the first of the Demon Lords has been defeated! If you're wondering what exactly happened to him, he was stricken by the extreme extent (immobility) of his sin; sloth. The power of Daichi's virtue played against Belphemon and turned his representative sin into a weakness that he could exploit for a victory.

I would also like to note at this point, just in case it isn't clear, that the events of the next few chapters involving the Demon Lords will be occurring simultaneously. The blurbs about Takeshi at the end of each chapter also occur within this same time frame.

**Revision Notes: **Nothing more than a few grammar bugs this time. It seems I'm using commas more, but mixing them up with semicolons.


	29. Beelzemon

Chapter 28: Beelzemon

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

It was quiet; not so much as a whisper could be heard. The tall buildings kept a silent watch on the street below. The street was empty, and had been for some time. Both the silence and emptiness were broken, as a loud sound made the windows of the skyscrapers rattle. This sound was the revving of an engine, growing louder as it came up the street. It belonged to a motorcycle, and was accompanied by the grumblings of its rider. The rider brought his bike to a stop, and observed the emptiness of the city. He grunted in annoyance, and dismounted his bike.

The rider, and everything about him, gave the impression of a gang leader. He was wearing a leather jacket with a fur lined collar, a pair of metal studded riding gloves and boots that each had a triad of spikes at the tip. On his back there were several loose cables jutting out, and at the center of his face was a third, unblinking eye. On his back was a holster containing a handheld, double barreled shotgun, with another one holstered at his right leg. Much of his clothing bore skull shaped emblems.

Beelzemon grumbled to himself; "Man, I came out here looking for a warm up, but there's no one around to destroy."

In response to Beelzemon's grumblings, a pair of Tankmon rolled around the corner. At the first, the two of them trained their cannons on him, but lowered them upon recognizing him.

Beelzemon smirked to himself; "Perfect."

He pulled his two shotguns out of their holsters and pointed each of them at one of the Tankmon. He shouted 'Double Impact' and fired off two rounds from each shotgun. Each of the Tankmon was struck by two shots, and was immediately destroyed. Beelzemon promptly loaded their data before it could disperse.

Beelzemon spat on the ground; "That wasn't even an appetizer. I clawed my way up from nothing for this power, but now there's no one who can challenge me. There's got to be someone around here who can put up a fight. Then, once I beat them, I'll be even stronger."

Beelzemon was about to get back on his bike, when he heard a voice call out from somewhere nearby. The voice called out 'Justice Burst', after which numerous blue energy bolts fell around Beelzemon. Although none of the bolts actually hit him, it was enough to get his attention. The Demon Lord grunted in irritation and looked up to his attacker, who was standing on top of a nearby building.

The figure standing there was human in appearance, but wore a form fitting blue and white suit. There were metal plates on his shoulders and knees, and his entire right arm was mechanical. A metal mask with an antenna on each side covered most of his face. A long red scarf hung around his neck, with one end of it flowing over each of his shoulders.

"Halt villain," called the Digimon, gesturing with his mechanical arm. "Your rampage ends right here."

Beelzemon gazed at him with a confused look on his face. "What rampage? I only killed two guys. Who are you anyways; Spandexmon or something?"

"I am Justimon; protector of this city. I assume you are Beelzemon, one of the Seven Demon Lords."

Beelzemon smirked; "So you know me huh? Should I be flattered?"

"You should be wary; I am here to stop you once and for all."

"Oh are you now? Maybe you'll actually be a worthy opponent."

Without any further exchange of words, Justimon leapt from the rooftop. He called out 'Justice Kick' and thrust his foot forward as he dove at Beelzemon. Beelzemon rolled his eyes and casually leaned to the side, allowing Justimon to fly past him and crash headlong into the ground. He yawned, expressing his boredom and turned around to where Justimon had crashed. Once he did, he was met with Justimon delivering an upward kick into his jaw, knocking him back a few feet.

Beelzemon rubbed his jaw and smirked; "You're the first person in a long time that has been able to hit me. I must have gotten rusty over the past couple millennia."

Justimon stood up and faced Beelzemon unflinchingly. "There's a lot more where that came from. You caused too much damage to the Digital World the last time you were free. I cannot allow that to happen again."

Beelzemon chuckled; "You can't 'allow' it? Who do you think you are? You may have gotten in a fluke hit, but there is no way you're going to defeat me."

"We shall see."

Justimon held up his mechanical arm, which began to change shape. The hand became enlarged and bore only three fingers, with a lightning bolt emblem on the palm. He called out 'Thunder Clap' and slammed the hand onto the ground, unleashing a triplet of shockwaves towards Beelzemon. The Demon Lord leapt backwards, landing just beyond the reach of the attack. As soon as he landed, Justimon dashed towards him, his arm changing shape again. It now bore a short, orange coloured blade of energy.

When he reached Beelzemon, Justimon yelled 'Voltage Blade' and swung his weapon at his opponent. The Demon Lord grabbed Justimon's arm just below the blade and squeezed it. The machinery crumpled and the blade shorted out and disappeared. Justimon swung at him with his free hand, but he simply caught the punch and sneered. While he held onto both of Justimon's hands, Beelzemon delivered a mighty kick to his stomach. The blow threw Justimon back, where he landed in a heap.

Beelzemon glared at the injured Justimon and then smirked. "I told you it was impossible."

Beelzemon once again removed his shotguns from their holsters, pointing them at Justimon. He called out 'Double Impact' and unloaded both of his weapons at Justimon. Justimon flinched away from the oncoming attack, and raised his arm in an attempt to shield him. Instead of feeling the attack strike him, he heard a loud pair of clangs. When he looked up, he saw a figure clad in black armour standing over him. The figure was holding out a hexagonal shield, and had blocked Beelzemon's attack.

"Who are you?" asked Justimon.

"A friend," replied Blackwargreymon, placing his shield back on his back. He then offered a hand to Justimon.

Justimon took his hand and stood up. "Very well met then; friend."

Beelzemon looked as though he was about to throw up. He interrupted the two by calling to them; "So there's two of you now eh? This might turn out to be fun after all."

Justimon morphed his mechanical arm back to its original state as he and Blackwargreymon turned towards Beelzemon.

"You corrupted me and made me do horrible things. I'm here to make sure it never happens to anyone else."

"One of my few mistakes; it's not usually my style to do stuff like that. I prefer to prove I'm the strongest personally, instead of having lackeys do the work for me. Although; this will be a fun mistake to correct."

Beelzemon cracked his knuckles and took up a stance, waiting for the other two to come at him. Blackwargreymon nodded to Justimon and then leapt at Beelzemon, thrusting his claws forward. Beelzemon caught his claws, but required both hands to hold him back. While Beelzemon was occupied with Blackwargreymon, Justimon jumped over him and delivered a kick to his face. At the same, Blackwargreymon rammed the back of his other gauntlet into Beelzemon's chest. The combination of blows threw Beelzemon backwards.

Beelzemon leapt up from the ground and landed on his bike. The engine roared to life at its riders touch. Before he could make a move, Justimon converted his arm back into the three fingered form. He called out 'Thunder Clap', slamming his palm onto the street. The impact caused several cracks to form in the road, one of which caught the back wheel of Beelzemon's bike.

Beelzemon revved his engine furiously, but all it accomplished was spinning his tires uselessly. Blackwargreymon took this opportunity to leap into the air and conjure a massive sphere of energy. He yelled 'Terra Destroyer', before hurling the orb at Beelzemon. The Demon Lord cursed loudly before jumping free of his bike. Blackwargreymon's attack impacted the bike, blowing it to pieces.

Beelzemon glared at the remains of his bike, and then turned his fury on the other two. "Now you've done it. I was taking it easy before, but playtime is over."

Beelzemon whipped his shotguns out again and snarled at the two of them. They braced themselves for the attack, but before it came, Beelzemon was struck in the back by an energy blast.

"What the…" he said, turning to see his other attacker.

Darkdramon was standing with his left arm outstretched, the cannon poking out of his gauntlet. He withdrew his cannon and waved to the other two Digimon. "You looked like you could use some help."

Ren stepped out from behind Darkdramon and smiled at the others. "I'm glad you're here, Blackwargreymon, it might have been hard for us to fight Beelzemon by ourselves. Oh, and you as well…"

"Justimon," he said, introducing himself.

"I'm Ren. I'd introduce myself more formally, but this is a bit of a dicey situation."

Beelzemon began to laugh uncontrollably. "So there are three of you now huh? What's more; one of those pesky human brats is with you. Things are really gonna get good now."

"This will be the end for you, Beelzemon," declared Justimon.

"You wish."

Beelzemon swung both of his shotguns forward towards Justimon. Before he could get a shot off, Darkdramon snatched away one of them with Gliepnir's claw. Beelzemon grunted, but fired the other shotgun at Justimon anyways. The shots impacted his three fingered hand, blowing a hole right through it. Justimon winced and clutched at his arm, which then shifted back to its standard form. Beelzemon holstered his remaining shotgun and then charged at Justimon, extending his claw like fingers.

Blackwargreymon stepped out in front of Justimon and raised his arms above his head. He yelled out 'Black Tornado' and began rotating his entire body. Once his spinning became fast enough to blur his appearance, he threw himself at Beelzemon. Beelzemon stopped charging when Blackwargreymon came at him, but was unable to get out of the way. Blackwargreymon drove himself into Beelzemon's gut, launching him backwards at Ren and his partner. Darkdramon then clasped Gliepnir's claws around his waist, and threw him into the side of a nearby building.

Beelzemon fell from the side of the building into a heap on the ground. He pounded the ground with his fist in anger.

"Damn it," he exclaimed to himself, panting heavily. He clawed at the ground, slicing small cracks in the pavement. "I'm not going to go back to being nothing. I'm not weak; I'm not going to lose. I'm not going to die…"

Beelzemon's third eye rolled back into his head as an image from his memory came to the surface. He had been much smaller back then; before he joined the Demon Lords. He had just gotten beaten by a Devidramon, and it was about to finish him off. Before it could, a massive blast of white and black energy completely destroyed it. He looked up and saw the figure of Lucemon standing over him. Lucemon turned away, and gestured for him to follow, and he did…

Beelzemon twitched with frustration and began to hyperventilate. The others had moved in closer to him while he had been having his episode. He let out a tortured scream and lunged at Ren. Darkdramon moved to stop him, but was easily thrown aside. Ren attempted to move away from Beelzemon, but tripped over his own feet, falling backwards. He held up his arms and shut his eyes, wincing away from the oncoming attack.

Ren heard a sickening crunch, but did not feel anything. He opened his eyes and saw Blackwargreymon standing over him. One of Beelzemon's claws was sticking out of the right side of his chest, piercing cleanly through from his back. Beelzemon retracted his claw, allowing Blackwargreymon to fall to the ground beside Ren. He grunted painfully, and clutched at the gaping wound.

Darkdramon got to his feet, but wobbled wearily. "No; Blackwargreymon," he said weakly.

Beelzemon, still in a rage, pulled out his remaining shotgun and aimed it at the fallen Blackwargreymon. He fired a single shot, but then the weapon jammed. The shot struck Blackwargreymon's head, blowing off the right side of his helmet. Beelzemon yelled and threw the shotgun aside. Blackwargreymon coughed weakly and nudged Ren away from him. Ren got back up and ran over to Justimon and Darkdramon.

The look in Blackwargreymon's eyes softened, and then they closed for good. His body dissolved into data and began to stream away. Before it could, Beelzemon drew it in with his right arm and absorbed it. He let out a triumphant yell as a mechanical weapon formed over his arm. He ogled the weapon briefly before turning back to the others. He let out a maniacal laugh and yelled at them.

"SEE?! I told you I wasn't going to die!"

Justimon and Darkdramon both glared at Beelzemon, furious about the death of Blackwargreymon. Darkdramon looked as though he was about to explode. Ren placed an arm on Darkdramon's shoulder and looked at him solemnly.

"Don't fly off the handle," he warned. "You might get hurt if you're careless right now."

Darkdramon nodded and then turned to Justimon. "It's time for you to go."

Justimon was taken aback at this. "What?! You expect to fight him by yourself?"

"In this city, there is a temple. There are many Digimon taking refuge there. If we should fail to stop Beelzemon here, you must get them out safely."

Justimon hesitated briefly, but nodded in the end. "I shall see that it is done. I wish you luck, my friend." He then leapt up to the top of a nearby building and away into the city.

Beelzemon had now regained most of his composure. "All alone are we? That's too bad; this isn't gonna be fun anymore."

"Is that all you can think of?"

"What good is having power if you can't have fun with it?"

Ren took a deep breath and then glared at Beelzemon. "I think I realize now why we have to fight. It's so that we can protect the things that matter from monsters like you." Ren's Digivice began to glow with a soft green light. Darkdramon stepped forward and raised Gliepnir

Beelzemon spat at Ren's words. He then held up his new weapon, the tip of which opened up. The opening filled with a small orb of pink energy. Beelzemon yelled fiercely; 'Corona Blaster', and discharged a massive blast of energy. Darkdramon quickly raised Gliepnir to shield himself, but the blast was too big for him to block fully. Gliepnir itself was undamaged, but massive chunks of his armour were broken off, and part of his visor had melted. Darkdramon staggered briefly, and then fell backwards, degenerating to Sealsdramon as he hit the ground.

As Sealsdramon fell, a beam of green light shot out of Ren's Digivice. Beelzemon raised his weapon to shield himself, which then got struck by the beam. The weapon discharged green sparks, but showed no visible signs of damage. Beelzemon snickered cruelly and pointed the weapon at Ren and Sealsdramon.

"Looks like you've run out of fight. I might as well put you out of your misery."

The tip of the weapon opened, but this time the orb inside it was green instead of pink. Beelzemon looked horrified as the weapon began to shoot off sparks again. The orb exploded outwards, tearing apart the weapon. Beelzemon howled in pain and fell to his knees, clutching at his right shoulder. The explosion from the weapon had taken his entire right arm with it. He gritted his teeth and panted heavily, while glaring at Ren.

"Well, go on," he said, "you're proven that you're stronger than me. Hurry up and kill me already."

Ren shook his head; "Why are you in such a hurry to die?"

"What do you mean? You won; that gives you the right to kill me as proof of your superior power."

"Power isn't just for killing. Besides, Sealsdramon is only a champion level Digimon; he wouldn't be able to leave a scratch on you. It would also be somewhat dishonest to attack an unarmed opponent."

Beelzemon grunted furiously; "Of all the cheap shots! I'd rather be dead than suffer that kind of insult on top of my injuries."

"Perhaps you can find something else to use your power for now. Let's go, Sealsdramon."

Ren helped Sealsdramon to his feet and propped him up on his shoulders.

"Why did you decide to let him live?" asked Sealsdramon

"Something in my gut told me not to kill him. Besides; you aren't really up to it anyways, are you?"

Sealsdramon chuckled, "No I suppose not. I just hope you're making the right choice."

"I don't think he'll be doing much fighting any time soon. If he does decide to pick a fight with us again though, we'll be ready for him."

With that the two of them departed, heading towards the temple and leaving behind a bewildered Beelzemon. He struggled to his feet and stared at the backs of the other two until they were out of sight. He bore a puzzled look on his face, and the situation had just begun to sink in. He turned around and began to skulk away in the opposite direction.

"What is up with that human?" he asked rhetorically. "He was stronger than me, but he didn't kill me. That's how things are supposed to work; the strong survive while the weak perish. What did he mean when he said 'another use for my power'? Power is only for fighting, isn't it?"

Beelzemon was interrupted from his musings by the sound of flapping wings. He turned around to see who they belonged to, and was surprised when he saw who it was.

"Oh it's you," he said. "I thought you were dead."

"A gross exaggeration, my lord Beelzemon," replied the other Digimon.

"What do you want anyways? Can't you just leave me to die?"

"Unfortunately; if I were to leave you as you are, you wouldn't die. That in itself poses a huge problem for me."

"What…" was all Beelzemon managed, before the other Digimon attacked him.

The Demon Lord was still weakened from his injuries and unable to defend himself. Beelzemon let out a painful grunt as the attacker shoved the blade of a scythe through his chest. He gritted his teeth as the attacker withdrew his blade. The shock of that attack, coupled with his earlier injury was too much for Beelzemon. He fell to his knees, his remaining arm hanging limp. He began to fall forwards, but his data dispersed before he hit the ground. The other Digimon smirked, and then disappeared in a shroud of darkness.

**Author's Notes: **I really enjoyed writing this chapter. The addition of Justimon was somewhat spontaneous, as I had only originally planned for Blackwargreymon to be there by himself. Blackwargreymon, Beelzemon, and Justimon are my all time favourite Digimon, so I figured if two of them were showing up, why not bring in all three. At first I feared it would be a bit cluttered, but I think it turned out okay.

As for Beelzemon's weapon going off, that was the backlash from his gluttony. He obtained his Blast Mode Weapon from absorbing Blackwargreymon's data, and it was, in turn, the instrument of his defeat.

**Revision Notes: **Once again I fixed up the fights to make it easier to tell who's who. Not much to take note of aside from that.


	30. Lust and Loss

Chapter 29: Lust and Loss

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

When Ayame and Dianamon rematerialized, they didn't even need to look to know where they were. The instant drop in temperature and shrill winds indicated that they had returned to the Glacier area. It was no longer snowing, although the sky remained cloudy. In the area surrounding them, the ice flows and small lakes were indistinguishable. This made it impossible for them to determine their exact location. Even so, Ayame decided to get moving so as to stave off the cold somewhat.

"I don't suppose you have any idea as to where we should start looking, do you?" asked Ayame.

"I'm afraid I'm just as lost as you are," replied Dianamon. "It all looks the same to me. The only landmark I'd be able to recognize is the temple."

"Well; wherever she is, it shouldn't be too far off. Usually these transportations bring us pretty close to where we're supposed to be. I just hope that holds true this time; it's freezing out here."

"I also wish to get this over with quickly. Once Lilithmon is defeated, the Digital World will be that much safer."

With that, the two of them began to wander across the ice fields. As they ventured, it began to snow again. Lightly at first, but it got progressively worse as the winds picked up. They continued on for what felt like hours in the blistering cold, trying to find some sign of Lilithmon's presence. Ayame had begun to shiver uncontrollably, and was showing signs of fatigue.

Dianamon, noticing Ayame's weariness, picked her up and began to run at an increased pace. She was beginning to worry, when something loomed into view from within the snowstorm. It was a large palace, made completely out of ice. Dianamon didn't know who it belonged to or why it was there, but she knew that Ayame would be better off inside.

Dianamon ran up to the palace's front door and forced it open. She set Ayame down inside and shut the door behind her. Although the building was made of ice, it was much warmer than the outside had been. Looking around, Dianamon saw no one in the entrance hall, even though she had made a good deal of noise while barging in. Once Ayame stopped shivering, she got up and joined Dianamon.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"A great building made of ice. It's still cold, but at least you are shielded from the wind and snow."

"Who do you think lives here?"

"There is a strong possibility that no one lives here. I was not very subtle about my entrance, yet no one has come to investigate."

"That's weird. Oh well, we should take a look around anyways. I know I wouldn't want anyone breaking into my house unannounced."

"What if there's no one here?"

"Then we can take shelter here until this storm blows over."

After that, the two of them began traversing the palace, attempting to find its owner. Although the palace was large, it was completely devoid of life. The two checked inside every room and passage, but there was absolutely no one to be found. Eventually, the two of them came across a room that stood out from the others. The door was open a crack, and there was light coming from inside. Upon moving closer to the door, two voices could be heard coming from inside.

"My dear Lady Lilithmon, it is so wonderful to have you back," said a male voice.

Ayame and Dianamon were taken aback upon hearing Lilithmon's name. They inched close to the door, and glanced into the room. Near the back, Lilithmon was sitting upon an icy throne, with another figured kneeling beside her. This figure was also dressed elegantly, with deep blue clothing. He wore a black cape with an upturned collar, and on his face was a red mask, the sides of which looked like bat wings.

"It's wonderful to be back, Myotismon," replied Lilithmon. "I had spent so much time away that I almost forgot why I love it here."

"Why is that, my lady?"

"It's so empty and peaceful up here. The rest of the Digital World has far too many inhabitants to deal with. Up here I can enjoy my solitude."

"Does that mean you wish for me to leave as well, lady Lilithmon?"

Lilithmon chuckled; "No; I don't want you to leave. Your company is far more tolerable than that of most other Digimon. As much as I enjoy my solitude, I need someone around to play with."

"You may only view my as a plaything now, but someday I shall have your heart."

Lilithmon snorted; "My heart? Why would you want something as useless as that?"

Before Myotismon could answer, Dianamon took a step back from the door, causing one of the blades of Luna to scrape against the wall. Lilithmon and Myotismon both looked to the door when they heard the scrape. Lilithmon smirked before looking back to Myotismon.

"Tell you what; you can have my heart if you deal with our 'guests'."

"Of course, my Lady."

Myotismon stood up, and Lilithmon watched as he walked to the door and out of the room. After a few moments there were several loud thuds, followed by Myotismon crashing backwards through the wall. He was thrown to the back of the room, along with several large chunks of ice. Ayame and Dianamon stepped into the room through the resulting hole, but were speaking to each other instead of Lilithmon.

"That wasn't very subtle, Dianamon."

"When are you ever subtle? Besides; there wasn't any room to throw him elsewhere."

Lilithmon glared at the two of them impatiently, and then cleared her throat loudly. "Would you mind telling me why you've broken into my home?" She paid no mind to what had happened to Myotismon.

"I would think that's obvious," replied Ayame.

"We're here to put an end to you," finished Dianamon.

"Who do you think you're talking to? I am Lilithmon; Goddess of Darkness and one of the Seven Demon Lords. How did you get here anyways? Lucemon was supposed to have killed all of you."

"We had some help from a friend."

Lilithmon stood from her throne and began to approach the two of them. "Well then, I'm afraid your friend's efforts are going to go to waste."

"Over my deleted body," said Dianamon, stepping forward to meet Lilithmon.

"That's the plan."

Lilithmon was the first to attack; she held out her left arm and called 'Phantom Pain', unleashing a black mist at Dianamon. The mist traveled quickly, and Dianamon was unable to avoid it. When the attack first struck, nothing happened, but after a few moments Dianamon began to scream as her entire body was wracked with sharp, stabbing pains. Lilithmon took this opportunity to lunge at Dianamon, while removing the part of her robe that covered her right arm.

Lilithmon's right arm was revealed to be nothing more than a skeletal frame, albeit one that was made of gold. Although Dianamon was still in an immense amount of pain, she was able to raise Luna and catch Lilithmon's skeletal hand, after which a green mist spewed from it. The mist was acidic, and caused the moon shaped spikes on Dianamon's left shoulder to liquefy. Lilithmon jumped back from her, after contact with the weapon proved to be painful.

By now the pain from Lilithmon's first attack had numbed, and Dianamon called out 'Arrow of Artemis'. A bolt of twilight coloured energy shot from the moon on her right shoulder, but only sparks came from the melted one on her left. Lilithmon used her skeletal arm to deflect the attack, but lost two fingers from it as a result. She gritted her teeth and glared disdainfully at Dianamon.

"That hurt you little wretch," she exclaimed.

Dianamon ignored her and began to twirl Luna in her hands, until it was spinning so fast that it became blurred. She called out 'Crescent Harken' and hurled the spinning weapon at Lilithmon. She stepped aside from the oncoming attack and sneered, while the spinning Luna flew past her. It turned around in the air after passing Lilithmon, and flew at her from behind. She didn't notice the weapon until it reached her, slicing cleanly through her skeletal arm. She screamed as her hand and forearm clattered to the floor.

At the sound of Lilithmon's scream, there was a stir in the pile of ice chunks at the back of the room. Dianamon caught her returning weapon just as Myotismon burst out from the debris. He looked to Dianamon and then to Lilithmon, watching her pick up the detached part of her arm.

Myotismon roared in fury and was then engulfed in a cloud of dark energy. The energy built up around his body and began to expand, until he was too large to fit into the room. His expansion caused him to break through the palace roof, after which he still continued growing. He let out a beastly roar and the field of dark energy around him dispelled.

Myotismon's new form was well over a hundred feet tall, standing well above the broken palace roof. The skin on his chest and arms was bright red and from the waist down, he was covered in coarse fur. His arms were grossly elongated, reaching to his feet, and a pair of tattered wings adorned his back. His mask had changed into a set of horns and there were four eye shaped markings on his abdomen.

Ayame pulled out her Digivice and scanned Myotismon's new form. It was shown to be 'VenomMyotismon', 'Mega', 'Virus', with 'Venom Infusion'. She groaned audibly at the prospect of facing two Mega level opponents. Lilithmon had connected the severed part of her arm to the remainder, after which they had melded together. She smiled as she flexed her remaining fingers, but then looked at VenomMyotismon with disdain.

"That is such an eyesore," she muttered. "Oh well, at least he'll save me the trouble of dealing with that pesky human."

VenomMyotismon screeched and swung his long arms forcibly, tearing down one of the room's walls in the process. Dianamon jumped back and stuck close to Ayame, trying to keep an eye on her and the enemies at the same time. While he was thrashing, Lilithmon had moved away from VenomMyotismon, leaving him to his own devices. He looked down at Ayame and Dianamon, and snarled fiercely. He made his hand into fists, and threw them both at Dianamon.

Dianamon managed to sidestep the first attack, but the second threw her back into the hallway, yielding another hole in the wall. Ayame ran into the hall after her, and helped her to her feet. VenomMyotismon grasped at the two of them, but his size and the arrangement of the palace hindered his movements. As he clawed at Dianamon, he was slowly tearing down more of the roof and wall. Icy debris stopped Ayame and Dianamon from moving anywhere else, so they retreated to the far end of the hall.

Ayame felt it necessary to state the obvious; "This isn't going well."

"There's one thing going in our favour though," replied Dianamon. "Lilithmon decided to sit it out while Myotismon is in action."

"That's true, but he's huge. How do you expect to beat him?"

"I don't suppose you have any ideas."

"Planning was always Seiichi's forte. I usually tend to rush in without thinking. The only time that usually fails is when I'm sparring with Seiichi."

"Then I guess it's fortunate that we're only up against a hundred foot tall vampire."

Ayame snickered; "I think some of my bluntness is rubbing off on you."

Dianamon simply smiled in response, and turned back towards the throne room. Ayame's Digivice shone with a bright pink light, which created an aura around Dianamon's weapon. Just then, one of VenomMyotismon's hands crashed into the hallway, just short of the two. He attempted to withdraw his hand, but it got caught on the hole it had made. Dianamon looked at the hand, and then smirked at Ayame.

"I think a little rushing in here would go over quite well."

Dianamon jumped onto VenomMyotismon's hand and proceeded to run up his arm. He began to shake his arm to knock her off, but wasn't able to move it far enough since it was still stuck in the wall. As she ran further up his arm, he began to grasp at her with his free hand. She jabbed one of Luna's blades into his arm, and used it to propel herself upwards. He managed to jerk his hand free of the wall, and took a step back from her.

While still in the air, Dianamon called out 'Crescent Harken', and hurled Luna at him. VenomMyotismon was still unable to move well, and the attack tore into his chest, right where his heart would be. Luna passed cleanly through his body, turned around behind him and flew back to Dianamon. He let out a weakened shriek as he fell backwards, crushing the back wall of the room when he hit the ground. Lilithmon stepped forward and scoffed at VenomMyotismon's body, before turning back to Ayame and Dianamon.

"Good help is so hard to find. Oh well, I'll just have to deal with you myself."

As Lilithmon moved to make good on her word, VenomMyotismon's body began to dissolve. Before he disappeared completely, he turned his head to the side and looked at Lilithmon forlornly. Lilithmon paid him no mind, and continued to approach Ayame and Dianamon. After a few steps, she stopped approaching them and dropped to her knees. She was clutching at her chest and retching painfully. She glared at Ayame and Dianamon, her face showing a mixture of anger and confusion.

"What did you do to me?!" she demanded.

"You did it to yourself," replied Ayame.

Dianamon seemed confused as well. "What exactly did she do?"

"Well; I may be wrong, but I'm pretty certain this is her fault. When we were listening in on her earlier, she said she considered her heart useless. She also told Myotismon he could have it; and thusly he received it from her."

"So when he died, her heart went with him."

"Yup; now all we need to do is finish the job."

Dianamon smirked and turned back to Lilithmon. She folded Luna over, forming a crossbow, which she charged with energy from her shoulder moon. She aimed at Lilithmon, and fired the bolt directly into her chest. She screamed as the bolt pierced her body, and continued screaming until every last bit of her data had dispersed. Dianamon returned her weapon to her back and walked out of the room with Ayame.

"So, what shall we do now?" she asked.

"Well, I think a bit of rest would do us some good. We could probably stay here, since most of this place is still intact."

"Sounds good to me."

* * *

Takeshi looked up when the voice spoke to him, and beheld a bizarre creature. Its skin was a pale, almost blue colour. The upper part of its face was covered by a hood, which had green and red eye shaped markings on either side. It had sharp, red fingernails, three spikes on the front of each foot and one more spike on each elbow. The strangest thing about this creature was that it had an eye on the palm of each hand; the irises matching the colours on its hood.

When his initial curiosity subsided, Takeshi backed away from the creature hastily. "Stay back," he said, "you're another one of those monsters aren't you?"

"Well that's a bit insensitive," replied the creature. "Besides, we're all monsters here in a certain way."

"What do you mean?"

"The race of beings that we are, as a whole, are called 'Digital Monsters'. We usually call ourselves 'Digimon' for short."

"Digital? You mean like computers and stuff?"

"Yup, our world is made entirely out of data that built up from the networks of your world."

Although the creature sounded friendly, Takeshi was still a bit wary of him. Nonetheless he stood up and went up to the edge of the sphere where the creature was.

"It seems I've forgotten my manners," said the creature as Takeshi approached. "My name is Dracmon, nice to meet you."

"Um, I'm Takeshi Umeko. So, are all of you 'Digimon' different? I haven't seen any of you that look remotely similar."

"Well there are all different kinds of species; they just vary in relative population density. To the best of my knowledge I'm the only one of my kind."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well that's because you called me into existence on your own, just now. Before this, I was just a collection of discarded data that had been either corrupted or destroyed by the Demon Lords."

"The Demon Lords; they were those really nasty monsters that Fellangemon worked for right?"

"You're quite right, my human friend."

"How do you know all this; you said you were just created."

"Well; the data I was made from all carried hostility towards the Demon Lords or their followers. It seems to me that those hostilities are what retained the memories I have now."

"So what do you want with me?"

"That's a silly question; we're partners. Your desire to set right the mistake you were tricked into making is what created me. That, coupled with my underlying animosity towards the Demon Lords, makes us perfect for joining the fight against them."

"So there are others fighting against the Demon Lords too?"

"Yup; there's actually seven other human children here, all with Digimon partners. I seem to recall they were doing fairly well, but something tells me they'll need our help."

Takeshi thought it through for a while. Dracmon could have been making up stories in order to trick him again. On the other hand; the situation he was in really couldn't get much worse. He was also tired of waiting around, feeling sorry for himself.

"Alright; what do I have to do?"

**Author's Notes: **Three down, four to go. Since this story is generally oriented towards a younger audience, I couldn't use the literal definition of Lust for Lilithmon's defeat. What you saw here was my attempt at finding an alternative way of using it against her. Takeshi is making progress, but is he being set up by another evil Digimon? You'll just have to wait and see.

**Revision Notes: **Not much to note here, just some grammar fixes.


	31. A Duel with Daemon

Chapter 30: A Duel with Daemon

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

Seiichi and Apollomon's arrival brought with it a refreshing breeze. Looking around, the two found themselves back in the Plains Area, surrounded by far reaching grassy fields. There were some patches of flowers and shrubs, but for the most part the fields were the same all around. A short distance away, the two of them could see a village; one that appeared to be made out of building blocks.

The two of them walked towards the village, which turned out to be fairly large. The environment surrounding the village was bizarre, featuring trees with toys and candy hanging from them. The streets of this town seemed to be made of foam and rubber, and the buildings of plastic. All over the ground in this village were brightly coloured eggs, interspersed occasionally by what appeared to be cradles.

"Where are we?" asked Seiichi, looking around at the bizarre environment.

"If I had my guess," replied Apollomon, "I'd say we were in Primary Village."

"What's Primary Village?"

"Primary Village is where new Digimon are born. They're not always new though; a lot of the time the data is just a reconfiguration of a Digimon that has passed on."

"Where did you learn that?"

"From Wizardmon; I couldn't sleep last night, so I stayed up talking to him."

"You didn't sleep either? I guess we should thank Anubismon for that little jolt he gave us before we left."

"Indeed we shall, when we meet up with him and everyone else."

Seiichi bent down and picked up one of the eggs, cradling it in his arms. The egg shuddered at his touch, and he began to rub it gently. The egg gave one great shake, and then the shell shattered open. Now cradled in Seiichi's arms was a small Digimon, little more than a red blob with eyes. The Digimon nuzzled Seiichi and then hopped down from his arms and hobbled off.

Apollomon smiled at Seiichi, who still seemed a little surprised. "Congrats; you just hatched a baby Digimon."

"Are all Digimon born this way?"

"Yup, even the seven of us."

"I thought you guys were born at Seraphimon's palace."

"Nah; I asked Wizardmon about that too when the topic of Primary Village came up. According to him, we were born here and then called to Seraphimon's palace when you guys showed up. At that time, we were infused with data from the former Benevolent Masters, which pushed us up to our rookie forms."

"So, you've gone through an entire life cycle in less than a month? Things really move fast here."

"Not really, the seven of us are special cases. Our growth was accelerated by our partnerships with you humans."

Before Seiichi and Apollomon could carry their discussion any further, their attention was caught by the sound of an explosion. They looked across to the other end of the village and saw a burst of flames, accompanied by some other loud yells. Before they could move, a hoard of small Digimon ran past them, all of them terrified. Seiichi and Apollomon exchanged a glance, and then ran towards the source of the fire.

Upon reaching the other side of the village, Seiichi and Apollomon bore witness to what was less of a battle than a massacre. On one side of the fight was a group of Digimon, several of whom were obliterated right in front of their eyes. The one doing the slaughtering was none other than Daemon. There were three Digimon remaining, all of whom charged Daemon at once. He unleashed a burst of energy that destroyed two of them, and knocked the third one to ground.

The surviving Digimon was a blue skinned, bipedal dragon. He had scaly white wings on his back and a mark in the shape of an 'X' on his chest. He attempted to stand, but ended up falling onto his back. Daemon chuckled cruelly as he looked down at the last survivor.

"It seems as though your pitiful attempts to stop me were in vain," he taunted.

"Why are you here?!" demanded the Digimon.

"It's quite simply really. By taking control of this village, I shall be able to raise all of the newborn Digimon as our followers. You shall be made example of to show them the consequences of defiance."

Daemon held out his hands and called out 'Evil Inferno', unleashing a stream of dark coloured flames. The Digimon braced himself for the oncoming attack, and shut his eyes. When the attack didn't come, the Digimon opened his eyes to see Apollomon standing over him, sucking Daemon's flames into the jewels on his wrists. Seiichi knelt down next to the Digimon.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Not really, but never mind that. How are the infants?"

"They're fine, but they're all in a panic. Are you their guardian?"

"I'm Exveemon, one of the protectors of Primary Village. Sadly, it looks like I'm the only one left. Who are you?"

"I'm Seiichi, one of the Children of Virtue. Apollomon and I are here to defeat Daemon."

"Are you? Well; he looks pretty tough, so you'll probably be better off than me."

"You should go tend to the children and make sure they get away safely."

"Alright then, I'll leave him to you. I wish you best of luck." Exveemon then stood up and ran towards the crowd of scurrying infant Digimon.

Daemon had stood idle while Seiichi had been talking with Exveemon. After he left, Seiichi and Apollomon stood and faced Daemon, bearing determined looks. Daemon chuckled at them and stepped forward.

"So you survived did you? I'll have to have a word with Lucemon once I finish with you."

"You're getting ahead of yourself," retorted Seiichi. "You have to actually beat us first."

"You're just as foolish as that other impudent brat. Even if Lucemon wasn't able to kill you, I am far mightier than him. I think I shall enjoy showing you the true might of the Demon Lords."

Apollomon stepped forward and cracked his knuckles. "Just try it."

Daemon smirked and held out his hands again. He called out 'Evil Inferno' and unleashed another stream of dark flames. Apollomon brought his hands up as well, igniting the jewels on his wrists. He called out 'Apollo's Arrows' and shot out twin streams of fire, which collided with Daemon's attack in midair. There was an outburst of flames where the two attacks met, but the continuous streams of fire on both sides pushed against each other, instead of exploding outwards. Apollomon gritted his teeth and perspired while Daemon grunted, each of them trying to overpower the other.

While they grappled, Apollomon glanced back at Seiichi. "Have the infants gotten away yet?" he asked.

Seiichi turned and saw the back of Exveemon, accompanied by the crowd of infant Digimon, retreating away from the village.

"Yeah, they've left the village now," he replied.

"Perfect."

Apollomon let out a roar and his entire body became wreathed in flames. Along with the flames, a massive wave of heat was ejected from his body. This wave of heat snuffed out both his and Daemon's attacks. Upon being struck by the wave, Daemon was knocked off balance. Taking advantage of the opening, Apollomon leapt at Daemon. He concentrated the flames on his body to his hand, which now burned with white hot fire. Daemon regained his footing just in time to watch Apollomon's fist connect with his head.

The impact threw Daemon a fair distance backwards, where he landed on his back. He grunted and pulled himself to his feet. He glanced sideways and watched as one of his horns cracked and broke off. He turned his gaze back to Apollomon and gave a deep, unnerving chuckle.

"So, what was that about the might of the Demon Lords?" taunted Apollomon.

"I shall admit that I am impressed," replied Daemon. "I did not think you had obtained such power. It has been eons since anyone has so much as touched me."

"Does that mean you intend to surrender?"

Daemon snorted; "Hardly. Although you have gained some power, you still overestimate your abilities by far. All you have done is earned my true wrath."

Daemon let out a howl, which caused his robe to shred and dissolve, revealing his true form. His face was deformed and his mouth formed a demented smile, filled with disorganized fangs. His skin was a pale blue colour, with patches of burgundy fur and bands of white spikes on his arms and legs. His hands and feet were scaly and bore long red claws on each finger and toe.

Apollomon grimaced and took a step backwards. "You'd better stay back Seiichi; this is gonna get ugly."

"Don't worry, you can take him," replied Seiichi before moving back to observe the fight from a distance.

Apollomon stepped forward again and raised his fists, readying himself for Daemon's attack. Daemon gave a crooked smile and began to walk casually towards Apollomon. He was still several feet away from Apollomon when he made his move. He raised one of his arms, which then extended in an elastic fashion while he flexed his claws. Apollomon crossed his arms in front of him to block Daemon's attack. The attack connected and pushed him backwards, landing him close to Seiichi.

Apollomon thrust his arms forward, intending to launch another stream of fire at Daemon. When the flames didn't come, he glanced at his wrists, noticing then that Daemon's attack had cracked both of his amulets. He grimaced and reached for his waist, pulling out a contracted form of Sol. He held the rod out in front of him, causing it to extend telescopically. He spun it around his wrist and caught the other side with his free hand. The two ends of the rod caught fire, forming a ball of flames at either end.

Daemon smirked as Apollomon lunged at him, thrusting Sol forward. He sidestepped the thrust and brought the claw on his opposite side down towards Apollomon's head. Apollomon brought the other end up the rod upwards to catch Daemon's claw. Upon touching the rod, Daemon withdrew his claws, finding contact with it to be painful. At that instant, Apollomon swung the outthrust end of Sol into Daemon's side. Daemon winced away from the blow, and circled around him.

The two of them continued to spar in this fashion for some time. They circled around each other and traded blows back and forth. Apollomon managed to knock out two of Daemon's fangs, but in return suffered some major damage to his body armour. After one last grapple, the two pushed apart from each other.

"I am truly impressed, Apollomon," smirked Daemon. "You have displayed both power and skill in this fight. However, it ends here."

"Don't let him intimidate you," called Seiichi. "He may be tough, but he's exerting himself too much. If you can be patient long enough, he'll wear himself out." Seiichi's Digivice emitted a faint orange light.

"There's just one problem with that," called Daemon mockingly. "There are no limits to my power."

"There are limits to everything; with enough patience. If you wait by the river long enough, the body of your enemy will float by."

"Where'd you hear that?" asked Apollomon

"I read it in a book once. I kind of took it up as a personal motto."

"ENOUGH!" roared Daemon. "I grow weary of this. It's time to finish you."

"I couldn't agree more."

Seiichi's Digivice shot a stream of orange light into Sol. The weapon became surrounded with a bright aura, and Apollomon smirked. He threw himself at Daemon, who ducked aside to avoid him. At the last moment, Apollomon stopped dead in his tracks, spun Sol around and thrust one of its ends upwards. The rod struck Daemon hard in the face; the flames on the tip searing his eyes. Daemon howled painfully and stumbled backwards, clutching his face in his hands. He brought his head up, revealing his scorched eyes, and groped blindly in front of him.

"Where are you?!"

Apollomon jumped back from Daemon as he slashed aimlessly at the area around him. The flaming orb on his back and its frame departed from his hair and floated in front of him. He split Sol into two sections, attaching each one to either side of the ornament. The flames from the tips of the rod flowed into the sphere, increasing its intensity until it was glaringly white hot. He called out 'Sol Blaster', and a massive burst of flames erupted from the orb. The flames took on the shape of a giant bird and flew towards Daemon. There was a sound like a shriek as the air around the flaming bird boiled.

The flaming bird collided with Daemon and bursts into waves of fire pouring over him. Daemon roared fiercely, but was cut off when the attack ended in a brilliant explosion. When the smoke from the explosion cleared, all that remained of Daemon was his other horn. The horn fell to the ground and promptly disappeared. Apollomon returned the ornament to his back and coupled the halves of Sol together. He then promptly hunched over, using the rod to support himself. He was panting heavily, but there was a broad smile on his face.

"Well; that was fun, wasn't it?" he said sarcastically.

"At least we beat him," replied Seiichi.

"Shall we start heading back?"

"I think we should stay here for a little while. At least until we can be sure that Exveemon and the infants will be safe. Then we can head back to the Dark Area."

"Sounds good to me." The two of them then began to walk back through the village, in the direction Exveemon had taken the infant Digimon.

* * *

Dracmon smiled, pleased that Takeshi had decided to take action. "First of all, pick up your Digivice."

"Digivice?" replied Takeshi quizzically.

"Oops, guess I forgot to mention it. That little tool that you got from Fellangemon is called a Digivice. It's a handy little device, and it also symbolizes our partnership."

Takeshi checked himself over, before remembering that he had tossed the Digivice aside. He picked it up and it emitted a soft light, which had a comforting effect on him.

"So what do I do with it?"

"Well; the Digivice is fairly intelligent for a tool. If you're in trouble, it seems to automatically respond to the situation. Try holding it up to that little cage of yours."

Takeshi did as instructed and held the Digivice out towards the sphere. The Digivice lit up once again, and a soft stream of light poured from it. The stream connected with the inside of the sphere and spread out along its interior surface. Once the entirety of the spheres inside had been covered, the light faded. Shortly afterwards, the sphere began to crack; starting at the point where the light first touched it and stretching outwards. It wasn't long before the entire sphere was covered in cracks, at which point it shattered.

Takeshi immediately breathed a sigh of relief and took a deep breath, as the air inside the sphere had been growing stale. Looking around, he found that he was no longer surrounded by an infinite amount of darkness. Instead, he seemed to be underground; inside some sort of cave. Several dimly lit torches provided minimal light to the cavern.

Dracmon walked over to Takeshi and looked up at him, smiling. "Good job, I knew you could do it."

"Thanks," came his reply. "I'm glad you came along, otherwise I might have given up all hope by now."

"Don't mention it. Now; let's get hurry and get out of here."

"Where is here anyways?"

"This cave is located deep within the Dark Area; the place where the Demon Lords were previously sealed. They imprisoned you here, expecting you to rot away as they took over the Digital World."

"Well; we're just gonna have to put a stop to it. Let's go."

Takeshi and Dracmon began to traverse the cave, climbing upward whenever they could. They spent a fair amount of time doubling back and trying different pathways. Eventually, a draft told them that they were nearing the surface, and they ran towards it. Unfortunately their path was barred by an unwelcome sight. There was a great black Digimon standing directly in front the tunnel exit.

"What is that thing?" asked Takeshi, stepping back from the Digimon.

"Check the Digivice," replied Dracmon, "it should you some give info on this guy."

Takeshi brought the Digivice up, and it immediately displayed an image of the Digimon in front of them. It was registered as 'Devidramon', 'Champion', 'Virus', and 'Crimson Nail'. Takeshi looked at the information with some confusion.

"What does all this stuff mean?" he asked, showing the screen to Dracmon.

"It's telling you the Digimon's name, strength level, attribute, and primary attack."

"Do you think it'll let us pass?"

In response to the question, Devidramon glanced down at the two of them. "Human child…kill," was all it said before slashing with one of its claws.

Dracmon pushed Takeshi clear of the attack and jumped backwards just out of reach. He held up his hands and called out 'Evil Eye'. A stream of purple energy shot out of the eyes on each hand, striking Devidramon in the chest. It didn't even flinch and stepped towards Dracmon, growling. He stepped backwards and grimaced.

"Figures this guy wouldn't be hurt by dark energy," he grumbled. "Takeshi! Make me evolve; that way I can get rid of him."

"Evolve? What are you talking about?"

"Digimon grow stronger by evolving. Once you make me evolve, I can fight this guy properly."

"Okay, I'll try."

Takeshi held the Digivice out towards Dracmon, who was enveloped with the evolutionary light. 'DRACMON EVOLITION!' he called, while the light surrounding him grew larger. Once the light faded, Dracmon's new form was revealed to be a great, silver furred wolf. There were red patches in his fur and a pair of small, bat like wings extending from just behind his head. A plate in the shape of a wing covered part of his face. Instead of pads and claws, his feet were made up of numerous large, very sharp blades. 'SANGLOUPMON!'

Devidramon thrust a clawed hand at Sangloupmon, who swiftly jumped over it. He brought down his bladed front paws, carving cleanly through Devidramon's arm. Devidramon howled painfully as its arm fell to the ground and promptly dissolved. Sangloupmon jumped up again and roared 'Blitzkrieg Blade', hurling two of the blades on his front paws at Devidramon. The blades sliced through it and then turned around and passed through it again. It let out a moan and dissolved into a stream of data as Sangloupmon landed near Takeshi.

"What happened to it?" asked Takeshi, watching the bits of data float off.

"It was deleted," replied Sangloupmon. "Whenever a Digimon dies, its data gets broken down to be reconfigured." Sangloupmon bent down and presented his back to Takeshi. "Hop on; it'll be faster that way."

Takeshi nodded and mounted Sangloupmon's back. Sangloupmon stretched his legs and ran out of the mouth of the cave, onto the surface of the Dark Area.

**Revision Notes: **I found it odd that I didn't have a set of author's notes here, but I guess I didn't have anything to say at the time. Once again another chapter with nothing but grammar fixes.


	32. Unbridled Avarice

Chapter 31: Unbridled Avarice

**Disclaimer: I do not Own Digimon**

Upon exiting the transportation field, Hanae and Anubismon first though that they had not moved. They thought so because they were still in the desert. However, upon inspection, their surrounds had indeed changed. They were presently in the midst of another set of ruins. These ruins were different from the ones they had been to before, and were in much better condition. At the far end of the ruins, a pyramid was visible, although the top was broken off.

Hanae was eager to start looking through the ruins, but Anubismon placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hold on a moment Hanae."

"What is it Anubismon?" she asked, looking up at him.

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you. You're quite a bit younger than the other humans, and yet you still chose to come with them to the Digital World."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Of course not, it's just that by coming here you've put yourself in so much danger. What I'm curious about is why you chose to take such a risk."

"That's an easy question; I did it because someone needed my help."

"You decided to help Holyangemon; despite the fact that he was a complete stranger."

"That doesn't matter. If someone comes to you asking for help, then you really should help them. The only exception I can really think of is when the person asking for help is bad, or wants you to do something bad."

Anubismon smiled at Hanae. "I really hope there are a lot more humans out there like you."

"Well, the others are all really good people too. That's another good thing; if I hadn't come here I never would have met them. Now, when we go back to the Human World, I'm sure we'll all stay good friends. Same goes for you."

"I would like that. However, first things first; we have a Digital World to save."

"Right; let's go beat that withered old Demon Lord."

Anubismon and Hanae proceeded slowly through the ruins. For the most part they were deserted, save for the occasional tumbleweed. Further down in the ruins, they came across one building that had a pair of Golemon standing by the entrance. At the sight of the two of them, the rock Digimon left the entrance, turning to face them. Anubismon walked straight up to them and smirked. The Golemon looked at each other briefly, and then each threw a punch at Anubismon. He caught each punch with one hand, and pushed the Golemon back with ease.

Anubismon leapt at one of the Golemon and slashed upwards with Amemit, cleaving the Golemon in two. As it dissolved he pointed his other hand at the remaining Golemon and fired a beam of yellow energy from his amulet. The beam obliterated it, and its data floated off. The commotion caused by the brief fight caught the attention of a Digimon inside the ruins. It poked its head out and looked around at what had happened. The Digimon seemed relieved that the Golemon were gone, and stepped out of the structure.

The Digimon was oddly shaped, and looked like a five pointed star with arms and legs. "Hello," he said nervously, "are you the ones who killed those Golemon?"

"Yes, but Anubismon here did all the work," replied Hanae.

Anubismon smiled; "It was no trouble. Now, who are you?"

"Ah forgive me, my name is Starmon. I was here investigating these ruins when… those Golemon showed up. I know they work for the Demon Lords, so I was afraid they might be dangerous." Starmon's voice was shaky and he still seemed nervous.

"Well; you don't need to worry about them any more."

"Th-thank you; might I ask who you are though? I've never seen a Digimon like you before."

"Well that's because I'm not a Digimon, I'm a human."

"Are you one of those fighting against the Demon Lords?"

"Yup, that's us. Well, we'll let you get back to your work. Just be careful, the Demon Lords are on the loose."

"Yeah, I know. I'll be careful." Starmon then walked back inside the building.

Hanae and Anubismon turned to resume their walk through the ruins. They did not get far, when a hoarse chuckle reached their ears. The two of them turned around to see the withered, cloaked form of Barbamon standing before them. Starmon, shaking nervously stepped out from behind him.

"Just like I told you…sir; it's the human child and her Digimon."

Anubismon glowered at Starmon. "I thought you were acting suspiciously."

Starmon, obviously terrified, ran off through the ruins. Barbamon ignored him and continued chuckling at the children.

"Well this is an interesting turn of events," he said slyly. "I never thought I'd be seeing you two again. Lucemon must be getting rusty. I was only out here searching for the home of the former Shakkoumon, and instead I get the pleasure of killing one of you annoying humans."

"Why were you looking for Shakkoumon's home?" asked Hanae.

"Well; I don't see the harm in telling you, since you're about to die. Rumour has it that Shakkoumon collect various valuable artifacts. I wished to acquire them, for my own personal collection."

"You mean you were going to steal them!"

"It's hard to steal from someone who's dead."

Anubismon growled at Barbamon. "Shakkoumon was a great Digimon and a valued companion. I will not stand by and allow you to dishonour his name."

"What exactly do you plan on doing? I am one of the Demon Lords; your power is no match for mine."

"We'll see about that."

Anubismon charged at Barbamon, thrusting Amemit forward. Barbamon stood still and raised his skull staff in front of him. He called out 'Crimson Death', and a stream of dark red gas erupted from the skulls eyes. Anubismon was struck square in the chest by the attack, and thrown backwards. He slid on his back along the sand, back to where Hanae was. He sat up as Hanae bent down to check on him.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, just got caught off guard. He's pretty spry for his age."

Barbamon began to chuckle again. "Appearances can be deceiving. Now, is that all you can muster? If so, I'd like to get this over with, so I can return to my collecting."

"I'd like to get this over with as well."

Anubismon stood up and ran at Barbamon again. Barbamon smirked and brought his staff forward again, the eyes on the skull lighting up. Before Anubismon came within range of attack, he jumped into the air above Barbamon and fired a beam from his amulet. Barbamon waved his staff and a wall of red energy appeared, blocking the beam. Anubismon gave a flap of his wings and remained airborne. Barbamon sneered and waved his staff again, drifting into the air alongside Anubismon. Upon reaching a height level with Anubismon he sneered at him cruelly.

"To be honest, I was expecting more from you," he taunted. "I thought at the very least you'd be able to put up a fight."

"Be careful what you wish for."

Anubismon held out his amulet and called 'Wrath of the Desert'. A large column of sand erupted from the surface below, balling together in front of him. He thrust his hand forward, and a stream of sand shot out from the sphere towards Barbamon. Barbamon waved his staff lazily and the stream of sand flying towards him split apart, flying off in different directions away from him. When the sand cleared, Anubismon had lunged forward at Barbamon, thrusting Amemit forward. Barbamon, not expecting this, was unable to protect himself properly. He barely managed to duck away so that his shoulder was pierced by the claws, instead of his head.

While the claws were embedded in Barbamon's shoulder, he caught a glimpse of them and his eyes lit up. Anubismon retracted his claws and flew back down to where Hanae was. Barbamon fell to the ground in a heap. He stood up, propping himself up on his staff. His eyes were still trained on Amemit.

"That weapon you carry," he stammered, "is in not one of the ancient sacred weapons?"

"What if it is?"  
"Then I must have it! Perhaps we can make an exchange. If you give me that weapon, I shall allow you to live."

"I really hope you're not serious. Hanae risked her life to get this for me. I'll be damned if I let someone like you get a hold of it."

"As it occurs to me, I'll be acquiring that weapon either way. Why throw your life away over some foolish pride?"

"I think you should let him have it Anubismon," said Hanae simply. There was a soft yellow light coming from her Digivice.

"What do you mean?"

"I think he needs to be shown that getting what you want all the time isn't a good thing." The light from Hanae's Digivice seeped over to Anubismon, creating a soft aura around Amemit.

Anubismon saw the aura and smiled. "Alright, but I hope you know what you're doing."

"Ah, so you've decided to show some good sense."

"If you want it that badly; then take it!"

Anubismon threw his right arm forward, causing Amemit to fly off of it towards Barbamon. Barbamon lazily raised his staff again, waving it before Amemit. He intended to halt the weapons movements, so that he could pick it up after he killed Anubismon. However; the weapon did not heed his magic, and instead continued to fly at him. By the time he noticed, Amemit's claws had already pierced the skull topping his staff. The claws continued on their path, cleaving through his staff and wounding his hand.

Without his staff, Barbamon had lost the means with which to channel his power. He slumped to the ground, and was enveloped by a formless cloud of dark energy. Periodically the cloud of energy would lash out, damaging parts of the ruins. Anubismon held out his amulet once more, but this time it separated from his wrist. It floated out in front of him, and then expanded to a much larger size. Anubismon held both of his hands over the enlarged amulet and called out 'Amulet of the Ancients'. A massive yellow beam erupted form the amulet, shooting at Barbamon. In the wake of the beam, the aura of dark energy was swept away, after which the beam itself annihilated Barbamon.

After the beam subsided, Anubismon walked over to where Barbamon had been, and picked up Amemit. He slipped it back onto his arm, and walked back over to Hanae. Starmon, who had taken refuge inside the ruins during the fight, poked his head out when the commotion had died down. He looked around and, seeing Anubismon as the victor, emerged from the ruins. Anubismon glared at Starmon, who then ran up to him and bowed down on his hands and knees.

"Please forgive me," he said in a worried tone.

"Why should I?" asked Anubismon in return. "By bringing Barbamon here, you could have gotten Hanae hurt or worse."

"I know; I'm a coward. Barbamon conscripted me into investigating these ruins. Those two Golemon were there to make sure I didn't try and escape, but I thought their destruction would arouse suspicion. I panicked and when I found out you were one of the humans. All I could think about was saving my own skin by appeasing Barbamon. I'm very grateful to you for getting rid of him."

"I think I can forgive you," remarked Hanae. "After all, if you hadn't called him here, we would have wasted a lot of time looking for him."

"If Hanae can forgive you, then I guess I can as well."

Starmon stood up; "Thank you so very much. I'm truly sorry for causing you the trouble."

"Just make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Thank you for your mercy; it won't happen again." With that Starmon scurried off into the ruins again.

"Shall we start heading back to the Dark Area?"

"I would say yes, had that fight not taken such a toll on me."

"Don't worry about it. We'll rest for today, and then start heading back tomorrow. I'm sure the others are going to want to rest after their fights as well."

* * *

Takeshi and Sangloupmon's progress through the Dark Area was incredibly slow. Even though Sangloupmon could travel quickly, they were constantly forced to stop and fight against evil Digimon. They often had to remain in one place after each fight so that Sangloupmon could recuperate. Even so, they were making progress.

"So, how long do you think we've been going at this?" asked Takeshi, slumping down next to Sangloupmon, who was lying on the ground.

"I honestly have no idea; maybe a day or so."

"Are you doing alright?"

Sangloupmon chuckled; "Of course I am. The Devidramon can't keep up with me in the slightest, and the Bakemon are far too weak. The only problem is that it's tiring to keep fighting them."

"Perhaps I can alleviate your boredom," came an unfamiliar voice.

Takeshi and Sangloupmon looked up to find the source of the voice. Standing nearby was a Digimon they hadn't encountered before. He was a humanoid bird with black feathers and talon like hands and feet. He had purple armour on his head, chest and arms, and was carrying a sword in each hand. Takeshi's Digivice displayed information on the new Digimon; 'Karatenmon', 'Ultimate', 'Virus', 'Sonic Feather'.

Sangloupmon got to his feet and growled at Karatenmon. Karatenmon's beak twisted into a smirk.

"So you two are the ones who escaped," he remarked.

"What's it to you?" snarled Sangloupmon.

"Well; when you first escaped from the underground prison, you got away from me before I could stop you. Fortunately you left a fairly obvious trail behind you."

"So you work for the Demon Lords as well?" demanded Takeshi.

"Of course; I've come here to rectify my failure as a prison keeper."

"Just try it!"

Karatenmon rushed at Sangloupmon, bringing both of his swords forward. Sangloupmon reared up on his hind legs and caught the swords with the blades on his front legs. He pushed Karatenmon back and called out 'Blitzkrieg Blade', hurling two blades from his front legs at him. Karatenmon sidestepped the blades, which then circled around behind him. He smirked and, without looking, struck at Sangloupmon's blades behind his back, knocking them to the ground. Sangloupmon growled at him.

Karatenmon chuckled smugly; "Is that all you've got?"

Without waiting for a response, Karatenmon took to the air. He bellowed 'Sonic Feather', giving one hard flap of his wings. Dozens of feathers detached from his wings and flew towards Sangloupmon. The feathers acted like tiny daggers, piercing his hide before dissolving. He grunted painfully as he fell over on his side. Karatenmon returned to the ground and sneered at him.

"They told me you were strong," he spat. "I was expecting you to be able to put up a fight."

Takeshi stepped forward. "I'm not giving up. I came here to set right the mistakes I made, and I'm not gonna let you get in the way." His Digivice gave off an interesting light, which was black in colour.

Sangloupmon got to his feet. "Good job Takeshi," he called. "Now, aim the Digivice at me and call out 'Evolution Limit Break'."

Takeshi turned around to face Sangloupmon and held up his Digivice. He called out "Evolution Limit…BREAK", and a beam of jet black light shot out of it at Sangloupmon.

Enveloped in a sphere of the light, Sangloupmon roared 'SANGLOUPMON SUPER EVOLUTION…MATADORMON!' Matadormon had a slender torso, but the rest of his figure was hidden by long, billowing clothes. He had red pants with black markings on them, a green sash around his waist and long pink sleeves, connected only across his shoulders. Sprouting from the sleeves was a pair or bat like wings, which folded over his chest. On his feet was a pair of large blades, as well as a blade like plate covering the upper half of his face.

Karatenmon snickered when he saw Matadormon. "That was interesting. Maybe you'll actually prove to be a challenge."

Matadormon stood silently, his expression hidden by the plate over his face. Karatenmon lunged at him, bringing up both of his swords. With the slightest of movements, Matadormon ruffled his sleeves. Out of each emerged a long, thin blade, which he then used to parry Karatenmon's attack. Karatenmon smirked, and began to slash at Matadormon fervently. Only ever using slight movements, Matadormon parried every single one of his attacks.

Karatenmon jumped back into the air and yelled 'Sonic Feather', once again shooting dozens of sharp feathers at Matadormon. Matadormon responded by fanning out his sleeves, with five blades emerging from each. He hurled the blades at Karatenmon, declaring 'Rain of Blades'. His swords traveled much faster than Karatenmon's feathers, impaling him before he could make a move to protect himself. As Karatenmon's data dissolved, his feathers fluttered harmlessly to the ground, before dissolving as well.

Matadormon continued to hold his empty sleeves out, causing his blades to fly back to him. Once the blades had returned, he shook his sleeves to conceal them again.

"That was incredible," remarked Takeshi, walking up to Matadormon.

Matadormon smirked, "It's all thanks to you. Now, let's keep moving; we still want to go help the others."

Before Takeshi and Matadormon could depart, their ears were met with the sounds of thunderous footsteps. These footsteps served to tell them that they had more trouble coming.

**Author's Notes: **Barbamon's defeat is fairly self explanatory; his greed got the best of him when he wanted something he could never have. There are only two Demon Lords left, but once they're gone, will that be the end of it? Will Takeshi's attempts to escape and help them have been for nothing? By now I'm sure all of you have figured out who killed Beelzemon…or have you?

**Revision Notes: **I think this chapter consisted of the fewest revisions yet. 2 grammar bugs were found and eliminated.


	33. Lucemon Falls from Grace

Chapter 32: Lucemon's Fall from Grace

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

Upon their arrival, Kioko and Minervamon also found themselves in a familiar environment, although it was a rather unwelcome one. They were not sure if they had arrived in the Fringe or the Dark Area, as the two were barely distinguishable. The barren trees and hazy sky looked the same no matter where you were in those areas. However; their currently location was much less of a concern, than who it was that was there to greet them. Lucemon had appeared in front of them almost as soon as they had stepped clear of the transportation field.

"Welcome back," he said, his false sincerity rather obvious.

"Thanks," replied Minervamon, with as much cynicism.

"Frankly, I was hoping the others would be here with you so that I could correct my mistake all at once. However; since it's just you, I don't need to get too worked up."

"Actually, I'm rather relieved that you're here. First of all; it saved us the trouble of having to go look for you. It also means that I have the honour of returning the humiliation we suffered at your hands."

"You suffered humiliation? It was I who was humiliated. When I was prevented from killing you, my pride suffered a huge blow."

"Your pride should be the least of your worries right now," piped in Kioko. "We're here to finish you off for good, pride and all."

"Do you honestly think you can defeat me?"

"Let's find out."

Minervamon pulled Gladius off of her back and raised her shield, awaiting Lucemon's attack. He was only too happy to respond, conjuring a sphere of energy in each hand. He hurled the two spheres at here, one after the other. She deflected the first one with her shield, while piercing the second with Gladius. She then jumped forward towards him, thrusting her sword downwards. He caught the blade between his hands, but nearly buckled under the force of the swing. When he realized touching the blade was painful, he leapt back from her.

Lucemon once more conjured spheres of light and dark energy, bringing them together on front of him. He called out 'Paradise Lost', and unleashed the swirling torrent of energy at Minervamon. Instead of trying to avoid the attack, she planted Gladius firmly in the ground in front of her. She braced the sword with her shield arm as the attack fell on her, but grunted under the strain of its force. Since Kioko was right behind her, she wasn't able to move until the attack ceased.

Once Lucemon's attack dispersed, Minervamon dashed towards him determinedly. He charged at her as well, ducking under the swing of her sword and delivering a blow to her gut. She cringed from the blow, but then struck him in the head with her shield, knocking him off balance. One of her braids wrapped around his arm and, with a shake of her head, she threw him backwards again, where he landed on his back. He struggled to his feet, grunting painfully, as the impact had broken two of his wings.

Lucemon glared at Minervamon; "You will not defeat me."

"I'd say I'm doing a fairly good job so far," she retorted.

"You will not defeat me!"

Lucemon once more conjured a sphere of light and a sphere of darkness. This time, Minervamon responded by running a hand along her blade. This action caused a field of purple energy to appear around the sword. He roared 'Paradise Lost', again unleashing a massive blast of energy. She responded with 'Olympus Slash', swinging her sword downwards in his direction. The field around her sword became a blade of energy, which collided with his attack. As soon as it connected, the blade sliced through the energy burst, sending it spiraling away from her. The blade continued forward, until it struck him straight in the chest.

Having been slowed by Lucemon's attack, the energy blade's impact was not fatal. However, Lucemon was now nursing a massive wound that ran the length of his torso. He clutched at it with one arm, while the other hung lifeless at his side. He panted heavily, and glared at Minervamon. She responded by lowering her sword, and smirking at him.

"Have you had enough yet?" she taunted

Lucemon spat at her. "It seems that you are stronger than I first thought. I had not expected the sacred weapons to carry this much power. Since that is the case, I have no choice but use my last resort."

"What?!" exclaimed Kioko and Minerva together.

"It's a real pity though, this thing is so repulsive."

Lucemon let out a roar, causing his body to erupt with a pale grey fire. The flames flared up, obscuring his body, and continued to grow. There was a mighty shriek, and the flames dispersed. The creature standing where Lucemon had been was enormous, with scaly black skin and pale golden claws. It had seven tattered wings and a golden mask over the top part of its face. There was another claw at the end of its tail, and tattered fringe along its arms. Kioko pulled out her Digivice and scanned Lucemon's new form. It was registered as 'Behemon', 'Mega-God', 'Virus', and 'Nihilism Maelstrom'.

Minervamon looked up at the towering form of Behemon, shocked at the transformation. "This is new. Got any ideas Kioko?"

"Remember; the bigger they are, the harder they fall."

"Sounds good to me."

Minervamon ran her hand along her sword again, and threw another blade of energy at Behemon. The blade struck him in the face, causing him to wince away. He turned back towards her and snarled fiercely. He let out a shriek and a glowing mark appeared above each of his wings. Each one of those marks began to glow, and shot out an intense beam of light. The beams shot out in indiscriminate directions, carving massive lines across the ground. Minervamon dove at Kioko, knocking her to the ground as one of the beams shot past.

"Thanks," she muttered. "That was a close one."

"Don't mention it; what are partners for?"

"Still, this isn't going to be easy."

"Really, when is it ever?"

At that moment Behemon lashed at the two of them with a claw, forcing Minervamon to push Kioko aside again. She then twirled around and slashed his hand with her sword, causing him to retract it while wincing. He roared fiercely and belched out a stream of silvery flames. The stream of flames was massive, and Kioko was still on the ground, making her unable to get out of the way. Minervamon threw herself on top of her, returning Gladius to her back and holding her shield above her head. She let out a painful wail as the tide of fire washed over her, but unflinchingly stayed stationed above Kioko. When the flames finally ceased, Minervamon rolled over onto her side and wheezed painfully. The flames had singed her hair short, burning off her braids.

Kioko scrambled over to Minervamon. "Minervamon! Talk to me; are you okay?"

Minervamon coughed and glanced at Kioko. "No, I'm not okay. You should get away from here Kioko, or he'll kill you too."

Kioko shook her head. "No way; we're partners remember? You once convinced me to believe in myself. It's time I returned the favour. We have to beat this guy; the fate of the Digital World depends on it."

A bright purple light erupted from Kioko's Digivice, causing Behemon to stumble backwards from her and Minervamon. The light invigorated Minervamon, allowing her to get to her feet. She smiled at Kioko as she was enveloped by an aura of the light.

"Thanks Kioko," she said. "What say we put some serious hurt on Lucemon's pride?"

Minervamon grunted, focusing the aura surrounding her onto Gladius. The aura on the blade projected outwards, creating a massive blade of energy. Behemon had charged at the two of them again, and swung a claw at Minervamon. She was able to catch his claw on her shield arm and swung her sword upwards, cleaving his hand off at the wrist. Behemon shrieked and stumbled backwards, as his amputated hand struck the ground and dissolved.

While Behemon was recoiling, Minervamon stepped backwards, before running at him head on. Once she had built up enough momentum, she leapt into the air, bringing Gladius forward. She flew towards Behemon and, with one great thrust, pierced the bottom of his head. He was unable to even shriek, as the blade had stabbed clean through the top of his head. Having lost her momentum, she fell back to the ground, landing firmly on her feet. At the same time, Behemon fell backwards onto his back, before being engulfed by grey flames again.

When the flames cleared, Behemon had reverted to Lucemon, and was somehow still standing. His handless arm hung limp at his side, and the gash on his chest had been joined by one across the left side of his face. All of his wings were bent at odd angles, and he was panting raggedly. He attempted to walk towards Minervamon and Kioko, but staggered back and forth.

"How," he muttered, "is this possible?"

Minervamon walked up to him silently, and rammed Gladius through his chest. As his data began to dissolve, she whispered to him; "It's something you'd never understand."

Lucemon vanished with a look of despair on his face, after which the aura surrounding Minervamon faded. As soon as it did, she slumped over, and had to prop herself up on Gladius. She began to pant, but still managed to wear a smile for her victory. Kioko walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah; I'm just a little worn out," she replied. "I owe you some thanks; without that little speech of yours, I would have been toast."

"Well; if he got you, I would have been done for too."

"Either way he's dead now. Now we just have to hope the others have managed to defeat the other Demon Lords."

"Don't worry, they'll be fine. Since we're already in the Dark Area; all we really have to do is wait for them to show up."

* * *

The thunderous footsteps shook the earth as they approached. Matadormon stepped towards them and brought all of his swords out again. The Digimon responsible for the footsteps appeared before him, breathing heavily. He was a great, humanoid dragon standing at around fifteen feet tall. His entire body was covered in black armour, which gave him the appearance of a samurai. His armour bore large, jagged blades at the elbows, shoulders and knees. His helmet also bore blades that looked like horns, and he had a pair of long swords sheathed at his waist. Takeshi's Digivice pulled up an image of the Digimon, listing the information: 'Gaiomon', 'Mega', 'Virus', and 'Gaia Crash'.

"Who dares defile my territory?" he demanded.

Matadormon approached him unflinchingly, despite his towering stature. "I offer my apologies for intruding upon your territory."

"Name yourselves!"

"I am Takeshi Umeko," he said, walking up next to Matadormon.

"I am his partner, Matadormon. We would have passed through already, but we were held up fighting against a servant of the Demon Lords."

"Your reasons are irrelevant; I will not tolerate trespassers."

"If you will stay your blades, we shall remove ourselves from your territory immediately."

Gaiomon continued to breathe heavily, looking from Matadormon to Takeshi. "You are a rather peculiar being," he said, addressing Takeshi. "I have not seen your like before. Are you perhaps one of these rumored humans?"

"Um, yes; I'm a human. Why do you ask?"

"Normally I keep to my own affairs, and do not involve myself with the Demon Lords. However; on occasion I have provided them with my services, when a reasonable reward was offered."

Matadormon glared at Gaiomon, but remained silent for the time being.

"What does that have to do with me?"

"Living in the Dark Area, I am privy to all manner of information from the Demon Lords and their servants. This includes the mention of the humans with Digimon Partners who are fighting against them. I imagine that the reward would be great if I were to bring them your head."

Gaiomon stepped forward and drew his swords, which were jagged and crooked like the blades on his armour. "If you're willing to hold still, I'll make this as painless as possible."

Gaiomon brought his swords down, only to have them blocked by Matadormon. It took all five swords in either of his arms to black each of Gaiomon's. The pressure exerted by Gaiomon was incredible, and it was all Matadormon could do to hold him off. After a short period of such grappling, Gaiomon retracted his blades, which allowed Matadormon to attack. He called out 'Rain of Blades', hurling all of his swords at Gaiomon.

Gaiomon stood his ground, and allowed the blades to strike him. The blades lodged themselves in his armour, but he did not as much as flinch. Instead, he puffed out his chest, causing the blades to clatter to the ground, at which point the disintegrated. He raised his own swords above his head and roared 'Gaia Crash', slamming them into the ground. The swords impact caused massive shockwaves to run along the ground towards Matadormon. The shockwaves converged on Matadormon, throwing him into the air. He fell to the ground forcibly, after which he degenerated into Sangloupmon.

Gaiomon chuckled malevolently and stepped towards Takeshi and Sangloupmon, preparing to deliver the killing blow. Before he could, his attention was caught by a voice behind him, which called out 'Spirit Strike'. A stream of dim pink light struck his back, causing him to grunt painfully. He turned around in time to see Ravemon flying at him, extending his talons. He yelled 'Spiral Raven Claw', drilling his talons into Gaiomon, which brought him down to one knee. Ravemon hovered in front of Gaiomon, smirking at him.

"You!" roared Gaiomon, enraged at the sight of Ravemon.

"Looks like you didn't learn your lesson the last time we met," he replied. "Guess I'll have to school you all over again." He drew his sword and pointed it at Gaiomon.

"That was ages ago. You'll find I'm much stronger than before."

"Bring it on."

The two of them began to clash, loud clangs emitted every time their swords met. Meanwhile, Kuzuhamon had landed near Takeshi and Sangloupmon. She pulled out another sutra, which she placed on Sangloupmon's neck. The talisman glowed briefly before disappearing, after which Sangloupmon grunted and got to his feet. Takeshi was somewhat anxious about the appearance of the two new Digimon.

Kuzuhamon spoke to him, sensing his unease. "Fear not, human child, we have come here to assist you."

Her voice had a calming effect on Takeshi, and he was able to relax a bit. "Thank you for saving us. May I ask who you are?"

"My name is Kuzuhamon, and the one fighting right now is my protector, Ravemon." She looked to Sangloupmon, who had taken his place next to Takeshi. "You are this child's partner, are you not?"

"Indeed I am," replied Sangloupmon. "I owe my life to Takeshi; his desire to set things right called me into existence."

"That is good to hear. Ravemon and I had come here seeking to free you, but we did not expect you to have already escaped on your own. I am pleased to see that you found the strength to act on your own."

"Can you tell me about the other humans here?"

"Of course; there are seven other human children here in the Digital World. They and their partners are presently engaged in battles with the Demon Lords themselves. Ravemon and I met with them a few days ago, and they seemed to be doing well. They also intended to come and help you, once their battles had ended."

"Well; if they're already taking care of the Demon Lords, I guess there's really nothing for me to do anymore."

"Unfortunately that is not true. Something tells me that they will still need your help, once they reunite with each other."

The conversation between the three of them was interrupted by a loud, painful roar from Gaiomon. They all looked towards the fight, and saw that it was over. They watched Gaiomon's swords clatter to the ground and, looking up, saw Ravemon piercing his neck with his sword. He fell backwards with a mighty thud, after which his data promptly dispersed. Ravemon sheathed his sword, and flew down to meet the others.

Kuzuhamon began speaking once Ravemon joined them. "There is something else lurking in the shadows. I do not know what it is, for it has not yet revealed itself. I believe that the other children will need your help in order to defeat it."

"I am not sure if I can," remarked Sangloupmon. "According to you, the other Digimon partnered with humans possess the strength to fight the Demon Lords. I could not even rival one of their mercenaries."

"You have the potential within you," said Ravemon. "You just haven't had the opportunity to unlock it yet. Fortunately, that's something we can help you with."

Ravemon removed the sword and sheath from his belt, laying them on the ground before Sangloupmon. Kuzuhamon smiled at this gesture, and set her staff down next to the sword.

"We shall relinquish our strength to you, so that you may unleash your true power."

The two weapons then dissolved into a mass of data, which was loaded into Sangloupmon. He let out a howl as he was again engulfed by the evolutionary light; 'SANGLOUPMON LEAP EVOLUTION…GRANDRACMON!' Grandracmon was also a quadruped, but possessed a humanoid torso above the waist. His lower half was covered in coarse red fur, with bladed spikes on the back of each leg and normal claws on the front. The shoulders of his forelegs each bore a set of jaws jutting out; faceless, and bearing numerous sharp fangs. There were spiked gauntlets on his wrists, and a pair of bat like wings at the base of his humanoid torso. Like before, the upper part of his face was hidden by a plated mask.

Grandracmon admired his new form briefly, and smiled at Takeshi. "This power feels great. I feel like I can do anything."

"Glad to hear it," replied Takeshi. "Hey, where are you two going?"

Kuzuhamon and Ravemon had begun to walk off on their own.

"We have been around for quite some time," he stated.

"Since we have finished our task here, it is time for us to rest," she finished.

The two of them continued walking until they were out of sight. Takeshi caught the familiar glimmer of a data stream flying away, followed shortly by another. He wasn't sure what to make of their departure, but they had seemed content. Grandracmon bent down to speak with him.

"I think it's time for us to get going," he said. "If what Kuzuhamon said was correct, then those other kids are going to need our help."

Takeshi nodded. "Right, let's go."

Takeshi climbed onto Grandracmon's back, and the two sped off in the direction they had been heading previously.

**Author's Notes: **Only one more Demon Lord left to go. Takeshi's side story has concluded for the time being, but he'll be back. Kuzuhamon and Ravemon both allowed themselves to die, but they'll have gone to Primary Village to be reconfigured, so don't worry. If anyone is still suspicious of Grandracmon, don't be; Kuzuhamon and Ravemon's acknowledgement of him was meant to show he was trustworthy. You probably all know by now who it is lurking in the shadows anyways, sort of. Also since there's no Takeshi segment, the next chapter might be a little shorter than usual. Please don't hold it against me.

**Revision Notes: **There were no actually corrections made this time. However; I did reword some of the dialect and actions in both parts of the chapter. I think the new ones flow and sound better.


	34. Terror of the Seas

Chapter 33: Terror of the Seas

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

Upon their arrival, Evan and Gigaseadramon were briefly under the impression that they hadn't left the desert. The feeling of sand under Evan's feet was the same, but a look around showed him otherwise. In front of them was a massive expanse of water, reaching far beyond the horizon. Looking backwards, they saw a stretch of forest bordering the beach, which looked a lot like the vegetation in the southern Forest Area. A gentle tide flowed in from the sea, and out in the distance some storm clouds could be seen.

"This must be the Ocean Area," mused Evan.

"I can't think of anywhere else a giant sea monster would want to live," added Gigaseadramon.

"It's pretty big though; do you think we'll be able to find Leviamon?"

"It shouldn't be that hard, he is the size of a mountain."

Evan and Gigaseadramon walked towards the edge of the water, but stopped upon hearing a loud whistle. Looking towards the source of the sound, they saw a Digimon running towards them. The Digimon had scaly blue skin, and was wearing metallic blue armour on his arms, legs and chest. He was carrying a surfboard that was shaped like a hammerhead shark, which also had a rocket on the back. His head resembled that of a shark, except for the horn in the middle of it.

The Digimon ran up to Evan and Gigaseadramon, stopping in front of them. He took a moment to catch his breath, allowing Evan to scan him. He appeared as 'Surfimon', with 'Mega', 'Vaccine', and 'Riptide Blade'. He did not seem hostile, but Gigaseadramon kept an eye on him just in case.

When he caught his breath, Surfimon spoke to the two of them. "I hope you aren't thinking of taking a dip bro. That's a seriously gnarly idea right now."

Gigaseadramon seemed confused, but Evan was familiar with the surfer idioms he was using. He didn't like using them though. "What's the problem?"

"The state of things out on the sea has been in rough shape since the big croc came back."

"Do you mean Leviamon?"

"Sure do; he's been terrorizing the seas ever since he got here a few days ago."

"Do you have any idea where he is?"

"I hope you're not thinking of going after him. Trust me; that's a seriously bogus plan. Everyone who's gone looking for the croc has gotten themselves wasted. I only know that much because a witness to one of those slaughters got lucky."

"Well; we don't really have any other choice. If we don't beat him soon, he'll get back to full strength, at which point no one would be strong enough to beat him."

"What makes you think you're strong enough to beat him now?"

"I'm one of the Children of Virtue. I was brought here for this very purpose."

"You mean one of those human dudes everyone's talking about? I heard you guys were tough, but I'm still not sure if you can handle Leviamon."

"Right now my companions are out fighting the other Demon Lords. If I don't deal with Leviamon, I can't really call myself their friend."

"Well; there's really nothing I can do to stop you, so I guess you gotta do what you gotta do. If you're serious about taking him on, Leviamon was headed south from here. He's probably gone all the way to the deep too by now. Best of luck bro, you're gonna need it"

"Thank you."

"No problem dude." After that, Surfimon ran down the beach again, away from Evan and Gigaseadramon.

"So," remarked Evan, "do you think you can handle him on your own?"

"What do you mean?" asked Gigaseadramon.

"I can't breathe underwater, so I won't be able to come with you."

"That's what you think."

Gigaseadramon lowered his head down until it was level with Evan. There was a hissing noise, and a panel on the side of his head opened to reveal an internal compartment. Evan, surprised, stepped up onto one of his fins and looked inside. The compartment was fairly small, containing a seat and a monitor that seemed to display what Gigaseadramon was currently seeing. Evan seated himself, causing the panel to close behind him.

"You're a very well equipped Digimon," he commented.

When Gigaseadramon replied, his voice seemed to come from everywhere; "Thanks; I figured I should be prepared for this sort of thing. Sorcerymon rewrote some of the extra data I got from Metalseadramon to make it for you."

"I'll have to thank him next time I see him."

"Just so you know, I'm gonna go down first, so be prepared for the pressure change. When I hit the bottom I can start looking for signs of his presence. When we actually start fighting him, keep an eye on the monitor, since you might be able to see something I miss that can be used to our advantage."

"Sure thing, now let's go."

Gigaseadramon raised his head back up and hovered out over the surface of the water. Once he reached a place deep enough for him to submerge, he dove in head first. He went as deep as he could, and followed along the ocean shelf for a while. Eventually they came to a steep drop, where the bottom of the ocean disappeared into the dark depths. As Gigaseadramon descended, the light from the surface became continuously thinner. In response, he intensified the lights on his fins.

Evan had some experience with pressure, but he had never been this deep before. He rubbed the sides of his head, but couldn't stop his ears from popping. Despite the headache, he said nothing and allowed Gigaseadramon to continue his descent. They seemed to continue diving for hours, until Evan felt a jerk as Gigaseadramon leveled out. Looking at the monitor, he couldn't see very far; Gigaseadramon's lights didn't carry very well at this depth.

Gigaseadramon traced a path back and forth, sweeping as much of the ocean floor as he could. While searching, he did not come across any other Digimon. Pressure aside, fear of Leviamon was keeping anyone else from coming to that depth. After a period of searching, Gigaseadramon came across a deep trench in the ocean floor. He looked down into it, allowing Evan to observe it as well. Evan felt a strange feeling looking down into the trench, and suddenly he felt the need to get away from it.

He yelled to Gigaseadramon, even though he was inside him; "Get away from that trench!"

Gigaseadramon complied, and threw his turbines into full reverse. He escaped the range of the trench, just in time to see a massive pair of red, scaly jaws clamp shut. After the jaws shut, the ocean floor shook violently. The enormous form of Leviamon clawed its way out of the trench. Gigaseadramon retreated back, allowing him enough room to clear the trench. Once he had emerged, he stood on the ocean floor, dwarfing Gigaseadramon. His jaws showed a large toothy sneer, as he glared at Gigaseadramon.

"You're rather nimble," he commented. "I thought I had you."

"I take it you knew I was coming."

"Well; at first I thought Lucemon would have taken care of you. However, when something as large as you enters the water, the displacement would be difficult for me to not notice. When you got closer I recognized your data, since Fellangemon once brought me a sample of it."

"Thanks for reminding me of the other reason I wanted to get rid of you."

Leviamon chuckled insultingly. "What makes you think you can pull that off?"

"The fact that I have to."

Gigaseadramon roared and swam around to Leviamon's side, away from his dangerous set of jaws. While Leviamon tried to turn and face him, Gigaseadramon bellowed 'Plasma Torpedo', firing a blast of energy from his mouth. The torpedo swerved and struck the base of Leviamon's front leg, eliciting a painful grunt from him. He swung his head around, slamming his jaws into Gigaseadramon, knocking him away. Evan had to grip his seat tightly, in order to avoid being thrown around the compartment.

After the impact, Evan felt a small amount of water slosh around his feet.

"Evan, are you alright in there?" asked Gigaseadramon.

"Um, not really; you've sprung a leak," he replied.

"I noticed that. Don't worry; I've sealed off the compartment. You should be alright."

"Let's try and finish this quickly though, just in case."

Leviamon turned away from Gigaseadramon, and lashed at him with his tails. Gigaseadramon charged directly into the attack, calling out 'Razor Current' as he passed between the two tails. Leviamon wailed painfully as Gigaseadramon's fins cut through him, and immediately withdrew his tails. Gigaseadramon continued moving, circling around Leviamon in a wide arc. He slowed down once he was in front of him again.

Gigaseadramon prepared to charge at Leviamon head on. Before he could, the massive Demon Lord called out 'Rostrum' and slammed his jaws into the ocean floor. A large crack appeared at the point of impact, and ran along the ground until it was directly under Gigaseadramon. A massive jet of steam shot out from the fissure, hot enough to cause the water around it to boil as well. The rapid expansion of the steam cloud made it impossible for Gigaseadramon to avoid.

Upon being engulfed by the cloud of steam, Gigaseadramon let out a painful moan. Inside, Evan began to cringe at the sudden blast of heat, although he was spared the worst of it. While Gigaseadramon was temporarily paralyzed from the shock, Leviamon lunged at him. He clamped his jaws around his midsection, causing him to twitch and wretch violently. Evan clutched at his head; Leviamon's offensive had served to worsen the effects of the water pressure.

Sensing Evan's worsening condition, Gigaseadramon struggled to break free from Leviamon's grasp. All he was able to accomplish by doing so was carve long gashes into his armour, due to Leviamon's fangs. After further vain struggling, Gigaseadramon tried something desperate. He called out 'Plasma Torpedo', and discharged another energy projectile. The force of the blast threw him backwards, causing him to break several of Leviamon's fangs off as he cleared the beast's mouth. Leviamon winced away from him, as he put some distance between himself and the Demon Lord.

Once he reached a fair distance from Leviamon, Gigaseadramon addressed Evan. "Talk to me Evan; are you alright?"

"Never mind me," he stammered, panting heavily. "You have to focus on Leviamon."

"If I keep going like this, you're going to get killed. I'm not going to let that happen."

"This is more important; the fate of an entire world depends on you beating this guy."

"I'm not sure that I can; especially without you."

"Yes you can; go for his jaws."

"What?"

"I know they're his main weapon, but it's also his greatest weakness. If you can pin his jaws, he won't have any way of attacking you."

"Alright, but if this doesn't work I'm getting you out of here."

"Thanks for worrying about me."

Evan's Digivice began to give off a soft red glow. He set it down on the cabin's floor, which caused the light to spread on to Gigaseadramon. He was enveloped by a bright red aura, which also caused the green lights on his fins to turn red. The glowing orb at the back of his mouth turned red as well. Invigorated by the light, he charged at Leviamon head on.

Leviamon turned to face Gigaseadramon's charge, opening his jaws wide. When Gigaseadramon got close enough, he slammed his jaws closed, hoping to cleave him with one blow. Gigaseadramon nimbly darted sideways, narrowly avoiding the clamping jaws. He then swam past his jaws, ducked under them and came around full circle. He coiled around Leviamon's jaws several times before beginning to squeeze.

Leviamon attempted to open his mouth again, but Gigaseadramon's grip kept them firmly closed. He coiled his way along the jaws, inching closer to his head, and applying pressure to the jaws as he went. There was a sickening crack as Leviamon's lower jaw disconnected from its joint, causing him to let out a muffled shriek. Gigaseadramon continued coiling his way up Leviamon's snout, until he was right in front of his face. He stared into his eyes determinedly, and was met with a glare of cold hatred.

Gigaseadramon roared fiercely, and bellowed 'River of Power!' A massive, continuous torrent of red energy erupted from his mouth, striking Leviamon's face at point blank range. Leviamon began to thrash as the blast tore through his head, his growls and shrieks muffled by Gigaseadramon's grip on his jaw. Eventually the thrashing stopped, and Gigaseadramon cut off the stream of energy. He slipped loose from Leviamon's snout, and swam away as the beast collapsed. His legs buckled, causing him to fall against the ocean floor. A massive tongue slipped out of his broken jaw, and trickles of data began to float away from his carcass.

"I didn't know you could use that attack," remarked Evan.

"I didn't either; it just sort of came to me. I probably picked it up from Metalseadramon."

"Well, we can rest easy now that…" Evan's speech trailed off as he lost consciousness. At the same time, the red aura around Gigaseadramon died off.

Gigaseadramon flitted around frantically, before shooting upwards towards the surface. "Hang on Evan," he muttered, pushing himself as fast as he could go.

* * *

When Evan opened his eyes he had to shield them, wincing away from the bright sunlight. He took a deep breath, but coughed and spluttered; the air was much fresher than when he had been underwater inside Gigaseadramon. Once he caught his breath and his eyes adjusted to the light, he sat up, although he was still a bit dizzy. Looking around, he saw Gigaseadramon's head hovering next to him, and Surfimon on his other side.

"Welcome back to the land of the living dude," stated Surfimon. "We were worried that you'd gone belly up."

"I still have no idea what he's talking about," muttered Gigaseadramon.

Evan chuckled, "Don't worry; it takes a while to get used to the lingo. How long have I been out?"

"Almost a whole day, counting from when I started heading back to the surface."

"Did we manage to beat Leviamon?"

"Yup, although I can understand you not remembering; you passed out right after I finished him off."

Evan got to his feet. "If it's been a day already, then we need to start heading back. If we're late, the others will get worried about us."

"The others probably took some time to rest after they finished their own fights. We shouldn't have to worry too much about being late."

"Even so, let's go."

"Catch you later bros. I'll be sure to spread the word that the big croc is toast."

Gigaseadramon brought his head down to Evan again. He stepped up onto his fin and entered the cabin once more. Gigaseadramon hovered a few feet off the ground and jetted off into the forest, heading back towards the Dark Area. Even though he wasn't in the water, he was able to travel very quickly.

* * *

A figure cloaked in shadow watched the scene from the edge of the forest, hiding behind the tree line. He stepped aside as Gigaseadramon passed by, smirking. He had been teleporting around the Digital world, observing the children's fights with the Demon Lords. He chuckled softly to himself; with Leviamon's death all of the Demon Lords had been defeated. The chance he had been waiting for had finally come. However; he wanted to meet with the children when they were all together. To that end he decided that he would wait until they gathered together at the dark area. After Gigaseadramon left his sight, he wreathed himself in shadow and disappeared.

**Author's Notes: **Well that's it; all of the Demon Lords have been destroyed. All that remains is the mysterious shadowy figure who's been watching the kids. Who is he, and what does he have planned? Stay tuned for the thrilling conclusion of Digital Demons.

**ATTENTION READERS**: As of the posting of this chapter, Digital Demons shall be taking a 2 week Hiatus. I have a lot of school work to do, and I need to take some time away from my writing. However; throughout the week of February 16th (Slack Week at my school), I shall be posting the conclusion to Digital Demons in its entirety. Sit tight, and thank you very much for reading.

**Revision Notes: **I actually didn't make ANY modifications to this chapter. This pleases me, as I was hoping there would be at least one chapter where no revisions were required.


	35. The Deepest Shadow

Chapter 34: The Deepest Shadow

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

Daichi and Wingdramon were flying over the desert. They had awoken a day after they defeated Belphemon, and had immediately started flying back towards the Dark Area. Since the injuries to his wings were severe, Wingdramon was unable to fly at full speed. Even so, they had managed to cover a fairly large amount of ground over the two days since they left the forest. They had just entered their third straight day of travel when a bright flash of light caught their attention.

Wingdramon stopped dead upon seeing the flash, and looked around for the source of it. At first he was an able to see anything, but another flash of light occurred, close than the previous one. Looking in the direction of the second flash, Daichi and Wingdramon saw someone flying towards them. At the same time, Daichi heard a beeping coming from his Digivice. He pulled it out and saw that it was reacting to something. Once they got closer, they head a voice calling out from the figure.

"Hey; Daichi!"

Upon hearing his name, Daichi stared determinedly at the figure. As they drew closer, he finally recognized it as Anubismon. He flew right up to Wingdramon, upon which Daichi saw Hanae clutched in his arms.

"Hello Daichi," she said, a broad smile on her face. "It's great to see you."

"It's great to see you again too," he replied. "Are you doing okay?"

"I'm fine, but I think Anubismon is getting tired. He's been carrying me all by himself the whole time we've been traveling."

"I'm fine Hanae; really," insisted Anubismon. "There's no need for you to worry about me."

Wingdramon spoke up; "I'll take her," he suggested. "If you need, I can carry you as well. I imagine I have much more stamina than you."

"I think we should take him up on that, you could use a break."

"Very well, if you think it's best."

Anubismon flew around to Wingdramon's back and set Hanae down next to Daichi. She mimicked him and grabbed hold of Wingdramon's wings. He then moved over to the other side of his engine and landed there. He degenerated into Dobermon and laid himself flat, gripping Wingdramon lightly with his claws. He winced slightly when the claws dug into him, but got over it quickly.

Wingdramon checked with his riders; "Is everyone holding on tight?"

"Hanae and I are good," called Daichi.

"As am I," added Dobermon.

"Alright then, it's time to get going."

Wingdramon pointed himself in the direction of the Dark Area and resumed his flight. While they were traveling, Hanae and Daichi shared the stories of what had happened while they had been separated. They were very pleased to hear that the other had defeated their respective Demon Lord. Daichi was impressed that Hanae had tricked Barbamon, while she was equally impressed that he had managed to simply overpower Belphemon. The two were also interested in the different ways their Digivices had reacted during the battles.

It wasn't long before they had reached the Fringe, although it wasn't much different from the Dark Area now. Once they had traveled deeper into the Fringe, both Hanae and Daichi heard beeping from their Digivices. Since they had experienced the same phenomenon upon meeting up with each other, they knew that it meant some of the others were near by. Wingdramon dove closer to the ground and Daichi directed him according to where the signal from the Digivice grew louder. Hanae remained quiet, thinking it would be rude of her to tell Daichi's partner what to do.

Eventually, the signal led them to four figures; those of Kioko, Ayame, D'arcmon and Lekismon. Wingdramon landed a short distance away from them and, after dropping off his passengers, reverted to Coredramon. Hanae ran up to Kioko and hugged her, while Ayame gave Daichi a friendly punch in the arm. She also ruffled Hanae's hair, once she had let go of Kioko.

"Welcome back," said Kioko warmly.

"Thanks, it's good to see you too," replied Daichi.

"Are you the only ones who've come back so far?" asked Hanae.

"So far, yes," replied Ayame. "Kioko's been here from the start, since she fought Lucemon right here in the Dark Area. I got here the following day"

"How did you get here before me? Meaning no offence, but Lekismon can't fly."

"We found a transportation chamber inside Lilithmon's place. Fortunately Lekismon was able to read what was written on it. We would have had to walk back here otherwise."

After being rejoined by their Digimon, the four children once again began to share their stories. They talked about where they'd been, who they had met, and their battles with the Demon Lords. Daichi felt like an oddball when they talked about the reactions from their Digivices. Although they had all been slightly different, the girl's Digivices had affected their partners or their weapons. His was the only one that had struck the Demon Lord directly. His mood lightened when he heard about how Minervamon had defeated Lucemon; pleased to hear he was beaten as badly as he beat their partners.

Their conversation carried on for a while, until all four of them were alerted by signals from their Digivices. They all looked around for the source of the signal, but it was Hanae who spotted the figure moving towards them. As it approached, it became evident that the figure was in fact Firamon, with Seiichi mounted on his back. He waved to the group as he descended towards them, and Firamon set down a short distance away from them.

After being greeted by the others, Seiichi shared the story of his encounter with Daemon at Primary Village. After he finished his story, the others were wary about having to repeat theirs to him. Before they got the opportunity to, they were interrupted by another set of signals. Turning towards the source of those signals, they saw Gigaseadramon speeding along the ground towards them. He was accompanied by another Digimon they had never seen before.

This Digimon looked like an overgrown toy robot, with elongated arms and stumpy legs. It had a red light in the center of its chest, a translucent blue dome on top of its head and a jetpack on its back. They were able to make out Sealsdramon, who was gripping on to the back of the other mechanical Digimon. The mechanical Digimon set down a short distance away from the group, with Gigaseadramon setting his head down beside it.

The group watched as a panel opened on the side of Gigaseadramon's, out of which Evan stepped. The dome on top of the other Digimon opened, revealing Ren, who was lifted out of it by Sealsdramon and set down on the ground. The four of them rejoined the group, and were greeted warmly.

"Well, that's everyone," remarked Daichi.

"Glad to see everyone else made it back safely," commented Evan. "By the way Ren, what was that thing you were riding in? I knew it was you because I saw Sealsdramon, but I was still a bit puzzled."

"Oh, they call that a Mekanorimon," he replied. "It's not much more than a tank with arms and legs. We took it from the armory in the city, since we didn't have any other way of getting back quickly."

"Since all of us are here now," cut in Seiichi, "I take it that all seven of the Demon Lords have been defeated."

The others nodded in response, although Ren hesitated a bit before doing so. He hadn't actually killed Beelzemon, but he had bested him.

"That being the case, we should start looking for that other child."

"Bro's right; if the kid is still alive, then he probably needs our help."

"Where do you think he is though?" asked Kioko.

"Well, if he was at the barrier when it came down, then he's most like still within the Dark Area."

"You children are getting ahead of yourselves," called a voice that did not belong to any members of the group.

The children and their Digimon looked towards the source of the voice. Floating above them was a blobby mass of shadows, with a single glowing eye visible. The figure moved away from them, before descending to the ground. Its single eye stared at them, making them uneasy. The children's Digimon moved between them and the shadowy figure, preparing to attack if it made any suspicious moves.

"I suppose I owe the lot of you some thanks," said the figure in an eerie voice. "Without you, the Demon Lords would not have been defeated. Although I'm a little disappointed in you," he said, gesturing at Ren. "Since you did not finish off Beelzemon, I had to risk revealing myself in order to kill him."

The other children gave Ren skeptical looks. He defended himself by saying; "The fight ended in a stalemate. We both left, and we never saw him again after that."

"That doesn't matter now, since the end result was the same."

"Who are you anyways?" demanded Daichi.

"Do you not recognize me? Well, I suppose that would be difficult with this cloak of shadows on. Behold!"

The figure made a gesture, which caused the mass of shadows surrounding him to burst outwards. With the shadows gone, the figure was revealed to be none other than Fellangemon. One of his wings was still missing and his helmet was still cracked, revealing the single, malice filled eye. His arm was no longer limp, and held a firm grasp on his scythe, which he had somehow reacquired. He sneered sinisterly at the children, awaiting their reaction.

Gigaseadramon was the first to act, enraged by the sight of Fellangemon. He called out 'Plasma Torpedo' in his rage, firing a blast of energy at him. In response, he simply held up his hand and caught the torpedo. He smirked and threw it aside, where it exploded harmlessly in the distance. The children and their Digimon were shocked by this, since Fellangemon was only an Ultimate level. As such, he shouldn't have been able to deflect the attack of a Mega level Digimon.

"How are you still alive?" bellowed Gigaseadramon.

"I would be happy to share that information with you," replied Fellangemon. "However, I would kindly ask not to be interrupted while I do so."

Gigaseadramon snarled, but in the end backed away from Fellangemon.

"Thank you. Now, as you all know there was a great war between the Demon Lords and the Benevolent Masters long ago. However; before that, there was an internal conflict between the Demon Lords. The leader of the Demon Lords had upset the other six, but they were fearful of his power. In response to this, they recruited another member to their numbers, and overthrew their leader. They were not strong enough to destroy their former leader; so instead they sealed his power and memories, and made him subservient to them."

"How come we've never heard of this other Demon Lord?" butted in Daichi.

"There very few who knew of the Demon Lords internal conflict, since it came before the Great War. The only one who might have known is Shakkoumon, but he didn't think it concerned you. Much like how they were sealed by the Benevolent Masters, the seal they placed on their former leader would remain in tact so long as any of them still lived. However; thanks to your defeat of the other Demon Lords, he can finally be released."

"How do you know so much about this other Demon Lord?" demanded Seiichi.

"Simple; he and I are one and the same."

With those words, Fellangemon's helmet cracked clean open and shattered. From underneath it, a mess of long, greasy black hair fell, covering part of his face. At the same time, six additional wings sprouted from his back, three on either side. His entire body was wrapped in a thin layer of shadows, which swirled around him incessantly. He grasped his hair in one hand and ran the blade of his scythe through it, chopping it off to shoulder length. He brushed the hair out of his face, revealing that his left eyelid had a scar over it, and remained closed.

The children gasped at this new form, while Daichi attempted to scan it. His scan returned empty; there was no data on him.

"Allow me to introduce myself properly; I am Necronimon. I really do owe a lot to you children though, since it was your attacks that brought me close to death. It was only in that state that my memories returned to me. After that I faked my death, in order to lay in wait until you dealt with the Demon Lords."

"What makes you think you can beat us where they failed?" taunted Ayame.

"You only managed to defeat the Demon Lords through the power of your virtues. Unfortunately for you, I have no such weakness. However; I'm feeling charitable and will allow you to fight me at full strength."

"You asked for it."

Gigaseadramon reared up while the six other children released their weapons, allowing their partners to assume their Mega forms. Darkdramon and Anubismon took to the air, positioning themselves on either side of Necronimon. Examon placed himself in front of him while Gigaseadramon went around behind, hoping to limit his movements. Apollomon, Minervamon and Dianamon stayed back near the children, so as to keep them safe if Necronimon broke through the others.

Anubismon was the first to attack, thrusting Amemit forward and diving at Necronimon. As before with Cerberumon, Necronimon caught Anubismon's claws on his scythe. Darkdramon launched the claw of Gliepnir at Necronimon while he was occupied with Anubismon. While keeping Anubismon's claws hooked on his scythe, he ducked under Gliepnir's claws, and snatched it by the cable. The shadowy aura surrounding him seemed to negate the abrasive effects of touching the sacred weapon. He gave the cable a stern yank and ducked out of the way, allowing Darkdramon to collide with Anubismon.

Gigaseadramon went next, roaring out 'River of Power', and unleashing a stream of energy at Necronimon. He held out his hand, which caused the energy beam to swerve around him and head straight for Examon. Examon closed his wings over himself to block the blast. When it subsided, he threw open his wings and called 'Dragonic Impact', discharging a bolt from Ambrosius. Necronimon held up his hand once more, causing the bolt to stop dead in its path. After that, it simply dissolved into nothing.

By this time, Anubismon and Darkdramon had managed to recover. Before Necronimon could make another move, they both fired bursts of energy at him. He threw himself backwards to avoid the attacks, only to have Gigaseadramon slam his tail into him. The blow threw him towards Examon, who swung at him with Ambrosius. He jerked his body around and kicked the lance away, while throwing a blade of darkness from his scythe. The blade struck Examon's chest, pushing him backwards and eliciting a painful grunt.

"All right; everyone attack together this time," roared Examon.

Examon went first, calling out 'Dragonic Impact' and firing a bolt from Ambrosius. Darkdramon followed with 'Lightning Cannon', launching a blast from the cannon in his left arm. Gigaseadramon unleashed another 'Plasma Torpedo', sending out a single burst. Anubismon finished with 'Amulet of the Ancients', unleashing a stream of yellow energy from his amulet. All four of the attacks collided with each other on top of Necronimon, resulting in a massive explosion.

When the blast cleared, Necronimon was completely unharmed. He was surrounded by a shadowy sphere, which had blocked the attacks.

"Is that all you can muster?" he chided them. "If so, then you're in for a very rude awakening."

The four Mega Digimon moved to surround Necronimon again, which was exactly what he wanted. He let out a loud shout, which caused the sphere surrounding him to turn into a mass of writhing shadows. From within he called out 'Infernal Wrath', causing the mass of shadows to explode outwards. Upon being struck by the shadows, the Digimon roared painfully as they were hurled to the ground. When the shadows dispersed there was a massive crater beneath Necronimon, created when the sphere struck the ground.

Necronimon turned and faced the remaining Digimon with a wicked sneer on his faced. Apollomon and Dianamon nodded to each other, before stepping forward to meet him. He called out 'Arrow of Apollo', unleashing a stream of fire from the jewels on his hands. At the same time she exclaimed 'Arrow of Artemis', discharging twilight coloured lightning bolts from the moons on her shoulders.

Necronimon held out his free hand, spewing forth two torrents of dark energy. The dark energies collided with the attacks, which in turn neutralized each other. At that time Minervamon called out 'Olympus Slash', hurling a massive purple energy blade at Necronimon. He immediately countered by throwing a dark blade from his scythe. The two blades struck each other and once again canceled out. He threw himself downwards, landing roughly on the ground. He then dashed towards the three Digimon.

Apollomon lunged forward to meet Necronimon. He wreathed his hand in white hot fire and roared 'Phoebus Blow', throwing a hard punch at him. He caught the fist with his bare hand; his shadowy aura immediately snuffing the flames. He then delivered a hard kick to his side, before striking his head with the back of his scythe. While Apollomon was falling, Minervamon lunged at Necronimon, swinging Gladius in a wide arc. He responded by hurling a ball of shadows at her, striking her abdomen and throwing her backwards.

Having dealt with the other two, Necronimon set his sights on Dianamon. She responded by pulling Luna off her back, wielding it with both hands. Her eyes jumped back and forth between him and the children, as she was the only one presently able to protect them. He lunged at her, slashing in a tight arc with his scythe. She was able to stop the first blow, but that only earned her a sneer from him. With his free hand he grabbed hold of Luna, and tore it from her grasp. He hurled it away from her before cutting into her side with his scythe. She shuddered and clutched at the wound, before crumpling to a heap on the ground.

The children were only able to watch, horrified, as their partners were systematically defeated. They were in complete disbelief, unable to comprehend how Necronimon had single handedly defeated all seven of the Mega level Digimon. Necronimon flew back into the air and looked down on the children from above. This allowed the children to rush to the sides of their fallen partners. The Digimon struggled to get up while Necronimon glared down at them, chuckling cruelly.

**Author's Notes: **Well, this is it; the beginning of the end. Necronimon's name is derived from 'Necronomicon', and he is not a canon Digimon. It was only after typing it out so many times that I realized it look so much like 'Macaroni'. How will the children defeat Necronimon? Is it even possible for them? The next chapter is the Grand Finale of Digital Demons, so be prepared.

**Revision Notes: **Yet another chapter without any modifications. I'm fairly pleased with myself for this, and hopefully I can keep this streak up for the last chapter.


	36. A Brighter Tomorrow

Chapter 35: A Brighter Tomorrow

**Disclaimer: I do not Own Digimon**

Necronimon stared down at the scene below him contemptuously. The human children were attempting to console their fallen partners. All seven of them had been bested by him alone, even though they had all fought him at once. He could finish them off at any time, but he chose to savour his victory. He wanted the children and their Digimon to truly realize how powerless they were next to him.

"Do you see now?" he called mockingly. "This is the true, unhindered might of a Demon Lord. Know my power and tremble in fear; realize how pathetic you truly are."

Daichi pounded the ground in anger. "Damn it; we gave him everything we had and didn't even make a dent."

"I never imagined we'd face such a terrible power," remarked Seiichi.

Ayame mussed her hair in frustration. "How are we supposed to beat this guy?!"

"The simple truth of the matter is that you cannot defeat me. Once I kill all of you, there will be no one left to oppose me."

"We're not done yet!" roared Examon. He was currently struggling to his feet, pushing himself up with Ambrosius.

Necronimon, not pleased with the defiance, flew down to Examon and punched him square in the chest. The blow knocked Examon onto his back, but he still attempted to get back up. Around him, the other Digimon were attempting to stand as well. Necronimon landed in the middle of the other Digimon, chuckling malevolently.

"I supposed I have to admire your tenacity. That, or ridicule your stupidity. You have seen the extent of my power, and yet you still choose to fight me. Why not do the intelligent thing and beg for your lives? I might even be willing to show some mercy."

This time Hanae was the one to speak up. "You're a very bad Digimon, and we can't let you have your way. We're going to stop you and save all of the good Digimon we made friends with."

"Just for that, I think I shall kill you first."

Necronimon advanced toward Hanae, who stood there with a defiant look in her eyes. Anubismon stood up and placed himself in front of her, but was cast aside by a stream of shadows. Necronimon stood next to Hanae, twice her height, sneering down at her. He raised his scythe over his head but before he could strike, a voice nearby called out 'Infinite Darkness'. Necronimon turned towards the voice in time to see two massive spheres of dark energy flying at him. The two spheres struck him simultaneously and exploded, hurling him a great distance.

The children and their Digimon turned to see who it was that had managed to knock back Necronimon. Their eyes were met with Grandracmon, who had dark vapours spilling out from the jaws on his shoulders. He let out a great roar and charged at Necronimon, who was just getting back on his feet. Surprised by his new attacker, Necronimon was only able to raise his scythe to defend himself. Grandracmon clamped onto the scythe's rod with both sets of jaws and began grappling with him.

Necronimon's initial surprise continued, for Grandracmon was able to hold him at a stalemate for some time. The children looked on, awestruck at the strength the new Digimon was displaying. The fight between the two of them allowed the other Digimon a chance to recover. They managed to get back on their feet, and gathered together along with the children. Grandracmon gave a might roar and clamped down hard on the scythe with both sets of jaws. The rod splintered, forcing Necronimon to jump away from him.

"You strength is most impressive," he stated, eyeing Grandracmon. "Who are you; and how did you acquire such power."

"My name is Grandracmon. I owe some of this power to a couple of departed friends, but mostly to my partner. I believe you're acquainted with him; his name is Takeshi."

"Takeshi Umeko? The gullible brat that released the Demon Lords?"

"None other," he replied. The other children turned and saw Takeshi walking towards them.

Examon blurted out upon seeing Takeshi. "That was the kid that Fellangemon had with him when he went to take down the barrier."

"So he was alive," remarked Daichi. "Looks like I was right."

"Indeed you were," added Takeshi, before turning to face Necronimon. "Which is bad news for you."

"Well now, this is a surprise. Not only did you not get yourself killed, you even managed to find yourself a powerful partner."

"The two of us came together over our mutual desire to deal with you."

"What a charming story. It's unfortunate that it will have such a tragic ending."

"You'd like to think so wouldn't you? Get him Grandracmon!"

Grandracmon roared and opened his should jaws wide, calling out 'Infinite Darkness. Within each set a massive sphere of dark energy appeared. Necronimon sneered, and created another shadow sphere around his body. At the same time that Grandracmon unleashed his attack, Takeshi held out his Digivice, which fired a narrow beam of black light from its port at Necronimon. The beam punctured his shield, and proceeded to pierce through his chest. The barrier shattered just as Grandracmon's attack flew past, exploding as it struck him.

Necronimon emerged from the blast unharmed, but quite infuriated. He was holding up both hands and panting furiously. "I am growing weary of this. Your strength is formidable indeed, but it is far from enough."

"What about ours?" called out Daichi.

Daichi brought up his Digivice, aiming the port at Necronimon. From the port a narrow beam of light shot out, just like Takeshi's had; only his was blue. The other children followed Daichi's lead, holding out their Digivices towards Necronimon, all of which fired streams of light. Ren's was green, Ayame's pink, Seiichi's orange, Evan's red, Hanae's yellow and Kioko's was purple. Takeshi did the same, unleashing another stream of black light. The eight streams of light converged on Necronimon, bathing him in a field of bright, white light.

When the light died away, Necronimon was on his knees, clutching at his sides. The aura of shadows that surrounded him had dissipated. "I don't understand; where is this power coming from?!"

Examon chuckled at him. "This is the power of friendship, and the bond between partners."

"Um, sorry to interrupt," cut in Daichi, "but in my experience, the bad guys never get the friendship and unity speech. Let's just finish him off while we have the chance."

Examon nodded and raised up Ambrosius, the tip of which spread apart as a sphere of energy formed. At the same time, Apollomon brought the ornament off his back, Anubismon released and expanded his jewel and the others prepared to attack as well. All of the Digimon called out their attacks together; 'Pendragon's Glory'; 'Lightning Cannon'; 'Arrow of Artemis'; 'Sol Blaster'; 'Amulet of the Ancients'; 'Olympus Slash'; 'River of Power'; and 'Infinite Darkness'! The attacks collided with each other on top of Necronimon, resulting in an immense explosion. The resulting brilliance of the explosion forced the children and Digimon to avert their eyes.

When the blast cleared, Necronimon was still standing, albeit just barely. His robe was tattered, his arms were hanging limp at his sides and he had lost all but one of his wings. The other Digimon inched closer to him, preparing to attack again. He glared at them furiously, but in the end fell to his knees once more.

"This isn't possible; I was the strongest Digimon that ever lived."

"Don't you know anything;" chided Daichi. "The good guys always win in the end."

Necronimon didn't have a chance to retort, as his body dissolved into a mass of data and dispersed. When the last of his data was gone, a collection of cheers and yells arose from human and Digimon alike. Amongst the children there was much back patting, hair mussing and hand shaking. Even Takeshi, whom the others hadn't really met yet, was drawn into their celebration. He actually received a large amount of thanks from the others, since his arrival had given them the edge against Necronimon.

The group's revelry was interrupted by a mournful wail from Grandracmon. They all turned to face him at once, and saw bits of data leaking away form his body. As more data leaked away from him, he collapsed onto his side, before degenerating all the way back into Dracmon. Takeshi ran over to his partner and picked him up.

"Dracmon;" he called, "what's wrong?"

"It looks like my time is up," he replied.

"What do you mean?"

"Remember when we first met, I told you I was formed from corrupt data. I knew from the beginning that my body was unstable. I didn't tell you about it because I wanted you to be able to focus on the task of helping the other kids; not on worrying about me."

"What's going to happen to you?"

"I just said my time is up; my data is going to dissolve and fade away."

"Isn't there anything I can do?"

"I'm afraid not, but there is something I can do for you. Take my data with you back to the Human World and give it to your sister. If my guess is correct, it should combine with her DNA and compensate for the missing pieces."

"You mean it can heal her?"

"Not so much heal as patch up, but it should allow her to get better. Take it as my parting gift; a token of gratitude on behalf of all the Digimon who suffered at the hands of the Demon Lords."

Takeshi nodded to his partner, as tears welled up in his eyes. Dracmon let out a final smile as his body dissolved into bits of data. The port on Takeshi's Digivice acted like a vacuum and drew in the loose data. Takeshi remained silent. Around him the other children and Digimon fell silent and bowed their heads.

* * *

After Necronimon's defeat, the children and their Digimon had begun traveling around the Digital World. Their aim was to inspect the damage done by the Demon Lords, and to inform the residents of the Digital World that the danger had passed. At first Takeshi had been reluctant, but this was only because he had not been informed of the time difference between the Digital World and Human World. Once the other children told him about it, he was greatly relieved, since he knew that his parents and Chie wouldn't have to worry about him.

The first major stop they made was in the city, where they found Justimon, Meteormon and many others working to clean the place up. After Beelzemon had been killed, the army of Tankmon had shut down, and the city Digimon had been working to clear them away. Lopmon, Terriermon and some other small Digimon made use of Mekanorimon to aide the clean up efforts. It was here that they were able to have their first decent meal since splitting up to fight the Demon Lords. For Takeshi it was his first decent meal at all since coming to the Digital World.

The next location they visited was Primary Village, as directed by Seiichi. The village itself had suffered damage at the hands of Daemon, but Exveemon had already recruited some other Digimon to help with the repairs. According to him, a large number of new Digieggs; the eggs from which baby Digimon hatched, had arrived in the past few days. He believed that many of them were reconfigurations of Digimon who had been killed by the Demon Lords. The group spent some time tending to the newborn Digimon before moving on.

After about a week, their travels brought them back to the Forest Area. Of all the places they had visited, the forest was by far the worst off. Whereas all of the other Demon Lords had singular goals in mind, Belphemon had gone on a spree of mindless destruction. According to the survivors in the forest, Belphemon's rampage had killed many, and left countless others without homes. All the children could really do in light of this was tell them the news of the Demon Lords downfall and of the many Digimon being reborn at Primary Village.

Eventually they came across a site that seemed familiar to everyone except for Takeshi. It was Daichi who recognized it as the place where Seraphimon's castle had once stood. He realized this because it was here that he had found Belphemon. Beyond the crumpled mound the forest was in much better condition, since Belphemon had been stopped before he could carry on past that point. The Digimon couldn't help but feel nostalgic, as this was the first place they had a distinct memory of.

"Looks like we're back to where it all started," remarked Daichi.

Takeshi looked a bit saddened. "This wasn't where it started for me."

Ayame walked up to him and mussed his hair. "Buck up; consider this a chance to make a fresh start with your new friends."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It's just too bad that another friend couldn't be here."

"I don't think Dracmon would want you to be mourning over him like that," suggested Evan.

"That's right, he even gave you the opportunity to help your sick little sister," added Kioko.

"Yes he did, and for that I'll always be grateful. Speaking of that; when we go back to the real world, I'd like you to come with me."

"To visit your sister you mean?"

"Yes, she'll be happy to see that I've made some new friends. Plus I can tell her I'm a hero for saving all of you guys."

"Oh come on, you only saved Hanae. The rest of us weren't in any danger at the time."

"That's mean Daichi," cut in Hanae. "I'm very thankful that Takeshi came to save me."

The children and their Digimon shared a good, long session of laughter after that. Their mirth was once again interrupted, this time by a loud beeping from Takeshi's Digivice. He pulled it out of his pocket to find a message written on it. He couldn't read it, since it was written in the language of the Digital World. Kioko looked at the Digivice over Takeshi's shoulder.

"Something… something… gate ready," she read.

"When did you learn to read Digiscript?" asked D'arcmon, who was standing next to Kioko.

"Wizardmon taught me some, and I learned a bit by word association. Don't look too impressed, I can't read much of it."

"Wait, I recognize these," exclaimed Takeshi. "These same symbols appeared when I used this to come here in the first place. Maybe that means we can get home from here."

"Well then, I guess this is goodbye," said Coredramon. The children looked at him in disbelief. He and the other Digimon stepped away from the children.

"What are you talking about?" asked a confused Daichi.

"You have your world, and we have ours," replied D'arcmon. "Your task here has been completed. As such, it is time for you to return to your home. Although they do not yet realize you are even gone, there are those in your world that await your return."

"We're going to stay here and look after this world. Someone's gotta make sure we don't get any more crazed evil Digimon trying to take over."

"It would have been difficult for us to come with you anyways," remarked Dobermon. "As I recall Hanae, you said your home doesn't allow pets."

Hanae chuckled weakly, before running up to Dobermon and hugging him tightly. He nuzzled her and licked her face. The other children, save for Takeshi, hugged and shook hands with their partners one final time. After that, they gathered around Takeshi again, who began pressing buttons on his Digivice. A column of light spread outwards from it and enveloped the children. They waved to the Digimon, who waved back in return.

"Will we ever see you guys again?" called Daichi.

Coredramon called back to him: "Probably."

* * *

When the pillar of light surrounding them faded, the children found themselves back in the human world. However, much to their confusion, they were not back in Central Park. They were in some sort of garden, on a paved path lined with a few benches. There didn't seem to be any other people around.

"Hey guys, where are we?" inquired Daichi.

"I almost didn't recognize this place," replied Takeshi. "This garden is out front of the hospital where Chie is staying. What time is it?"

Seiichi checked his wristwatch, which he hadn't so much as glanced at while they were in the Digital World. "It's twenty minutes before five o'clock."

"Wow; that's only about half an hour after we left the park. We spent about a month in the Digital World right?"

"Yeah close to that. This means that for every day we spent there, only about a minute passed here."

"By that reasoning it's only been about ten minutes since I left. If that's the case, Chie should still be asleep."

"You gonna go visit her now then?"

"I think that would be best. If she was awake and I started sprinkling strange particles over her, she might go into a fit."

"Good point, let's go."

Takeshi led the other children towards the hospital's main entrance and brought them inside. They followed him through the main hallway and then down one of the branched halls. They walked about halfway down that hall when they came to a room with Chie's name printed on the door. Takeshi pushed the door open softly and peered inside. Chie was still asleep, her respirator humming softly. He stepped into the room while the other children waiting at the door.

Takeshi brought out his Digivice and held it out towards Chie. The port on it opened up and the data particles stored inside began to pour out. The data flowed over her body, which seemed to take on a dim glow. As the glow faded, her breathing seemed to become lighter. She opened her eyes slowly, glancing at him.

"Hello big brother," she said, smiling weakly.

"Hi Chie; how are you feeling?"

"Actually, I'm feeling kind of good right now. Do you think Doctor Jones gave me a different kind of medicine than usual?"

"I'm not sure; I wasn't in the room when he was here. Still, make sure you get lots of rest okay? We want you to get better as soon as possible."

"Okay, I will." She then looked past Takeshi to the other children. "Are they friends of yours?"

"Yes, very important friends. They were concerned about you so I brought them here to check on you."

"Why is the boy with the red hair wearing goggles? They make him look silly."

Daichi looked embarrassed, while the other children chuckled pleasantly. Takeshi gave his sister a gentle hug and then pulled the sheets back over her. She nodded to him and closed her eyes so as to drift off back to sleep. He smiled and backed slowly out of the room, closing the door after him.

**Authors Notes: **There you have it, Digital Demons has now been concluded. To everyone who has read through from start to finish, thank you. To everyone who has reviewed this story, thank you for your input. However; this is not quite the end. There is an epilogue coming up. Make sure you read the Epilogue, because at the end of it there will be a special announcement. After the Epilogue I shall be putting together a document containing various statistics about my version of the Digital World, as well as the characters that have appeared in this story. Once again, thank you for reading.

**Revision Notes: **Woo 3 chapter streak of no revisions. That means I did it right the first time in all of them. This also brings the revised edition of Digital Demons to a close. Thank you to everyone who reread it, and those who started new with the revised version.


	37. Epilogue: Life Goes On

Epilogue: Life Goes On

Six months had passed since the Children of Virtue returned from the Digital World. Less than an hour had passed in the Human World while they had been gone, and no one noticed their absence. After their return, they picked up their lives where they had left off. They went to school, played with their friends, and lived the lives of normal children. Life went on like it always did; or so it seemed. Even though things progressed as though nothing had happened, their time in the Digital World had left a distinct impact on the children.

Daichi was still a video game loving, care free individual. However, those who knew him noticed that he now applied his 'never say die' attitude to more than just his video games. He also was much more focused than before, and surprised his parents when he made the honour roll that term at school.

Ren had not lost his distaste for conflict and violence, but he ceased being the unintentional cause of it. He patched up his relationship with his father, after realizing the meaninglessness of their squabble. He even voluntarily applied for the Military Academy his father wanted him to go to. However; he stated quite clearly that he did not wish to carry on the family's military tradition. Instead, he wanted to start studying medicine.

The Matsumoto twins continued their training at their family's dojo. The changes they experienced were most noticeably observed by the other twin. Seiichi had become a lot less tense than he had been before. Ayame noticed that he was much looser during their sparring matches. She on the other hand, had actually learned to think before she acted. As such, she had finally managed to defeat her brother in a match.

Hanae, although she was still very young, had also benefited from her time in the Digital World. Before she became friends with the others, she led a very quiet life. She had been shy, and liked to keep to herself. Spending time with the other children had allowed her to open up, and she made many more friends very quickly.

Kioko, like Seiichi, had loosened up after her stay in the Digital World. Due to her intelligence, she had always felt the pressure to succeed. Most of this pressure came from her, and it had threatened to make her go insane. She still pushed herself to do well, but no longer demanded perfection. She found that life was much more enjoyable that way, and became much friendlier.

Evan had returned to America a few days after that rather long Saturday. He still kept in contact with the others through email and by phone. He would never forget the friends he had made, or the things he had experienced there, and always looked back on them fondly. He looked forward to the time when he might be able to meet them all again.

Takeshi became much happier after his time in the Digital World, mostly due to his sister's recovery. She had been released from the hospital only a month after she had received Dracmon's left over data. The doctors had been baffled by her miraculous recovery, and had examined her in every way they could to find an answer. The best they could come up with was that some genome she possessed had spontaneously reactivated, and as a result repaired the damage to her body. Although she was pleased to be well again, Chie did not enjoy having to catch up on massive amounts of school work.

All of the Children of Virtue remained the best of friends with each other. They would often gather together and reminisce about the time they had spent. Evan was kept in the loop as well, despite the distance between them. They had never told anyone about their trip to the Digital World, knowing that no one would believe them anyways. When they were together they couldn't help but wonder what was going on in the Digital World, and how their partners were doing.

As time passed, the children wondered if they would ever be able to visit the Digital World again. The parting words of Coredramon, 'Probably', had given them the hope that they would all meet again. They sometimes wondered if it had all been a dream. Then they would look at their Digivices, and know that what they experienced had been real. They knew that someday they would return, and see all of their friends again. Until that day, life went on.

**Author's Notes: **I felt it would be best to add this on to the end of Digital Demons, so as to make the conclusion less abrupt. I would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to everyone who has read this story, provided input on it, or even glanced at it on a whim. Special Thanks goes out to DemeonStarFlame, my proofreader. Without her, I doubt my writing would have improved as much as it has since I started this story. There's still more to come, because after this chapter I shall be providing an information sheet as a bonus to you readers. This document will contain lots of information on the Digital World as featured in Digital Demons, as well as on the characters involved in this story. Think of it as a little treat to show my thanks for your readership. Once again, thank you for reading.

**IMPORTANT ANOUNCEMENT: **This is not the end! During the course of writing this story, many other ideas came to mind, and a few things seemed to be left unfinished. As such it is my pleasure to announce that Digital Demons will have a Sequel! I refuse to divulge any details at this point, so you'll have to stay tuned. The sequel will be entitled 'Digital Dynasty', and will see the return of the main cast. I'm not sure how it will compare to this, the original, but I hope that I can keep up with a quality of writing you'll all enjoy. Thank you very much for Reading my story;

Sincerely: Tenaku Mihara


	38. Bonus: Data Sheet

Digital Demons: Statistics & Facts

**Warning: Contains Major Spoilers; Do not read until you have finished the story.**

**The Digital World**

The Digital World is a parallel dimension to Earth, which was created by the compilations of massive amounts of data. Time there passes differently, at a rate of approximately 1 minute to 1 Day, meaning that for every minute that passes in the human world, one day passes in the Digital World. Expanding on this; about four years pass in the Digital world every day in the Human World.

In Digital Demons the Digital World is divided up into eight areas. The largest of these areas is the Ocean area, covering about half the total surface of the Digital World. All of the continental masses of the Digital World are connected to each other, with the Ocean interspersed between them. The Glacier Area, the smallest, is actually split into two; one part at the northern most end of the Digital World, and another at the southern most.

The Mountain area is less of an area than a border. All of the continental areas of the Digital World are separated by mountain ranges, which in turn are connected to each other. Due to this, the mountains are the most widespread terrain in the Digital World. The mountainous borders can make crossing from one area to the next a hassle, but many of them have tunnels or pathways designed to ease this problem.

The City Area is the most rapidly growing in the Digital World, and is the only area not bounded by mountains. It is the most technologically and industrially developed part of the Digital World, and exists within the Plains Area. The Plains Area consists mostly of grassy fields, and is very suitable for farming. The most important feature of the Plains area is the Primary Village, where old data goes to be reconfigured and new Digimon are born.

The two largest continental areas of the Digital World are the Forest and Desert Areas. The Forest Area however, contains much more abundant and diverse life. The more southern regions of the forest begin to resemble a jungle, and at its southernmost point it borders the Ocean area. The Desert Area is dry and arid, and typically a hostile environment.

The last Area of the Digital World is the Dark Area, which borders the Desert, Plains, and northern Glacier Areas. This area was created by the Great War that raged between the Benevolent Masters and the Demon Lords when the Digital World was still fairly young. The main part of the Dark Area was sealed off, but was surrounded by a barren landscape that became known as 'The Fringe'. In itself the Dark Area is exactly like the Fringe; barren and inhabited mainly by evil Digimon.

**The Digimon**

The Digimon, an abbreviation of 'Digital Monster', are the life forms that inhabit the Digital World. They are very diverse in terms of both species and form. Digimon are all born at the Primary Village, in the form of 'Digieggs'. When these eggs hatch, the become Baby Digimon. Digimon grow and evolve like humans, but not in a gradual fashion. Their evolution is based on stages, starting from the Infant Stage they proceed through In-Training, Rookie, Champion, Ultimate and Mega Stages. There are also a few select Digimon who are given the 'God' classification in addition to their evolution level. This classification denotes that they possess powers far beyond normal Digimon.

**The Children of Virtue:**

Daichi Temaru

Age: 12

Height: 4'8"

Hair: Short, red and spiky

Eyes: One Blue, One Green

Prominent Features: Is always wearing a pair of Goggles; is the group's unofficial leader

Virtue: Diligence

Partner: Dracomon; Coredramon; Wingdramon; Examon

Ayame Matsumoto

Age: 13

Height: 4'11"

Hair: Medium, sandy brown, usually kept in short ponytail.

Eyes: Green

Prominent Features: Tallest member of the group.

Virtue: Purity

Partner: Lunamon; Lekismon; Crescemon; Dianamon

Seiichi Matsumoto

Age: 13

Height: 4'9"

Hair: Short, sandy brown

Eyes: Green

Prominent Features: Is the slightly older twin brother of Ayame

Virtue: Patience

Partner: Coronamon; Firamon; Flaremon; Apollomon

Hanae Tanaka

Age: 10

Height: 4'0"

Hair: Blonde, reaching past her shoulders. Often sports a ribbon.

Eyes: Blue

Prominent Features: Shortest and youngest member of the group.

Virtue: Generosity

Partner: Labramon; Dobermon; Cerberumon; Anubismon

Ren Tsurugi

Age: 12

Height: 4'8"

Hair: Short, black and very untidy

Eyes: Hazel, with a scar under his left from a flight in his childhood

Prominent Features: Comes from a family with a strong military heritage

Virtue: Balance

Partner: Commandramon; Sealsdramon; Tankdramon; Darkdramon

Kioko Hoshino

Age: 12

Height: 4'6"

Hair: Waist length, black and straight

Eyes: Violet

Prominent Features: Very intelligent; skipped ahead two grades in school.

Virtue: Humility

Partner: Elecmon; D'arcmon; Hippogryphomon; Minervamon

Evan Peterson

Age: 13

Height: 4'9"

Hair: Short, blonde, flyaway style

Eyes: Grey

Prominent Features: Only American member of the group; in Japan for surfing competition.

Virtue: Kindness

Partner: Betamon; Seadramon; Megaseadramon; Gigaseadramon

Takeshi Umeko

Age: 12

Height: 4'7"

Hair: Short, black and tidy

Eyes: Green

Prominent Features: Did not go to the Digital World with the other children; was brought there by Fellangemon

Virtue: Justice

Partner: Dracmon; Sangloupmon; Matadormon; Grandracmon

Special Note: Dracmon was the only partner Digimon to perish

**The Allies**

Seraphimon: Mega Level, God class. Last of the Benevolent Masters and the one who called for the children to be brought to the Digital World. Killed in Chapter 4; sacrificing himself to protect Hanae from Fellangemon.

Holyangemon: Ultimate Level. Servant of Seraphimon and possessed of the ability to see into peoples hearts. He was sent to the Human world by Seraphimon to gather the Virtuous Children. Killed in chapter 5, in a duel with Fellangemon.

Shakkoumon: Ultimate Level. Known as the Prophecy keeper, and has great clairvoyant abilities. He helped to instruct the children on the ways of the Digital World and the duty they were to fulfill. Killed in Chapter 21, protecting the children from Lucemon.

Wizardmon and Sorcerymon: Champion Level. Twin magicians and servants of Shakkoumon, possessing formidable magical skill. They have aided the children on numerous occasions. Last seen in Chapter 28

Kuzuhamon: Mega Level. Guardian of the mountain temple and survivor of the Ancient War. Is known to possess formidable spiritual powers and some clairvoyance. Allowed herself to pass on in Chapter 33, after aiding Takeshi.

Ravemon: Mega Level. Protector of Kuzuhamon and survivor of the Ancient War. Is a masterful swordsman and cunning strategist. Allowed himself to pass on in Chapter 33, along with Kuzuhamon.

Gotsumon/Meteormon: Rookie/Ultimate level. Saved from a Golemon by the children in the desert. He guided them to the fringe and then departed. Was later met again in the city as Meteormon.

Terriermon and Lopmon: Rookie Level. Helped the children avoid patrols of Evil Digimon in the city while leading them to the temple there. Later seen during the city clean up efforts.

Justimon: Mega Level. Assisted Ren and Darkdramon in the fight against Beelzemon. Possibly a survivor of the Ancient War. He later took up the tasks of protecting other Digimon in the city and aiding the clean up efforts.

Blackwargreymon: Mega Level. Formerly Wargreymon, a survivor of the Ancient War. Was corrupted by a virus created by Beelzemon. Was defeated by Darkdramon and had his consciousness restored by the Wizards. Later aided in the battle against Beelzemon. Was killed in Chapter 29, protecting Ren from Beelzemon.

Exveemon: Champion Level. Last surviving Guardian of Primary Village after it was attacked by Daemon. Serves as caretaker to newborn Digimon.

Other Benevolent Masters (Deceased): Ophanimon, Cherubimon, Azulongmon, Ebonwumon, Zhuqiaomon, Baihumon

**The Enemies**

Fellangemon: Ultimate Level. Serves the Demon Lords and is their primary vassal. Possesses powerful dark energies and wields a massive scythe. Killed(?) in Chapter 20, by the combined efforts of six of the Children of Virtue.

Served by: Devidramon (3/4/31), Bakemon (4/5) and Darktyranomon (5)

Devimon/IceDevimon/FlameDevimon/NeoDevimon: Champion Level/Ultimate Level. Three devil type Digimon who are brothers. Independent of the Demon Lords, attempted to kill the children and Wizardmon while they were passing under the mountains towards the desert. IceDevimon and Flame Devimon were killed in Chapter 10 by Coredramon and D'arcmon respectively. Devimon loaded their data and became NeoDevimon. He was killed in Chapter 19 by Crescemon.

Belphemon: Mega Level, God class. Known as the Slothful Giant. Takes pleasure in destruction but doesn't do much planning. Rules over the Forest Area. Killed in Chapter 28 by Examon.

Served by: Megidramon (22), Diatrymon (6), Scorpiomon (11)

Beelzemon: Mega Level, God class. The youngest member of the Demon Lords, recruited some time after the group was first formed. Known as the Gluttonous Bandit, but seems to have different goals in mind from the other Demon Lords. Killed in Chapter 29 by Fellangemon.

Served by: Blackwargreymon (23), Tankmon (23/29)

Lilithmon: Mega Level, God class. The only female member of the Demon Lords, known as the Lustful Vampiress. Prefers solitude and Rules over the Glacier Area. Killed in Chapter 30 by Dianamon.

Served by: Myotismon (30), LadyDevimon (18), Arukenimon (14/15), bug Digimon (9)

Daemon: Mega Level, God class. Wears a cloak hiding his true form, which he only removes in desperation. Known as the Wrathful Specter. Rules over the Plains and loves to display his power to those weaker than him. Killed in Chapter 31 by Apollomon.

Served by: Skullsatamon (18), Gaiomon (33)

Barbamon: Mega Level, God Class. The eldest of the Demon Lords by far, known as the Greedy Sage. Rules over the desert. Has a desire to possess all things rare and valuable, especially if he isn't supposed to have them. Killed in Chapter 32 by Anubismon.

Served by: Meramon (8)/Boltmon (25), Golemon (13/32)

Lucemon: Ultimate Level, God class. Known as the Vain Ruler and has the most inflated ego of all the Demon Lords. Rules over the Dark Area, and seeks to rule over others in order to satisfy his ego. He can evolve to a Mega Level, God class Digimon known as Behemon. Killed in Chapter 33 by Minervamon.

Served by: Piedmon (26), Karatenmon (32)

Leviamon: Mega Level, God class. Known as the Envious serpent and rules over the Ocean Area. He is the largest of the Demon Lords, but lacks any magical or spiritual powers. For him, being the biggest makes him the highest on the food chain. Killed in Chapter 34 by Gigaseadramon.

Served by: Gesomon (7), WaruSeadramon (16)/ Metalseadramon (27)

Necronimon: Mega Level, God class. Most powerful member and former leader of the Demon Lords. He is the true form of Fellangemon and is known as the Angel of Vengeance. His utmost desire is to rule over everything that exists. Killed in Chapter 36 by the combined efforts of the Children of Virtue and their Partners.

**Life and Death in the Digital World**

Digimon are all born at Primary Village, in the form of a Digiegg. When the eggs hatch they begin as fresh Digimon (Either Baby or In-Training). They usually leave the village once they reach the Rookie level, and start traveling towards whichever area they are best suited for. Digimon are made of data, not flesh and blood. As such they do not bleed, they do not get sick (although viruses can corrupt them) and they cannot die of old age.

There are two ways that a Digimon can die; by being killed in battle or of their own will. When a Digimon sustains mortal injuries, their bodies will dissolve into the composite data. A digimon can also voluntarily decompile itself if it feels that it has been alive too long, or otherwise grown tired of its current life. Although Digimon do need to eat and sleep in order to remain energized, deprivation of either of these things will not be fatal.

When a Digimon dies, the data travels to an oblivion that has no real name. Once there, the data is tended to by a mysterious entity. This entity is known to very few living Digimon, and is called Yggdrasil. The data that belonged to a good Digimon is reconfigured into a Digiegg, and sent to Primary Village. The data from Evil Digimon is consumed by Yggdrasil, after which its fate is unknown. Digimon whose data was corrupted before their deletion can be purified by Yggdrasil. Digimon who performed Evil deeds, but have a desire for redemption are sometimes given a trial. Should they pass this trial, they receive another chance, and are sent back to Primary Village.

In rare cases, a Digimon with a strong will can 'load' the data of defeated opponents. This data is not lost, but simply integrated into the Digimon that loaded it. The act of loading data grants the loader new powers or abilities. When a Digimon that loaded the data of another dies, the loaded data is separated from the host by Yggdrasil. However; both the Digimon who are loaded and the ones who loaded them take longer to be reborn, due to the separation process. In the special case of Evan's partner loading the data from Waru/Metalseadramon, their data would not be separated, since it belonged to him to begin with.

**Key Concepts**

**Digivice: **An electronic device that is given to the Children of virtue. It serves as a connection between them and their partners, and can be used to make them evolve. They also have the ability to scan and store data on the Digimon they encounter. The original Digivice was created by Shakkoumon, and is currently in the possession of Takeshi. The Digivices owned by the other children were copies created from the original. The original Digivice possesses greater functionality than the copies, and possibly its own intelligence.

**Evolution: **The general action by which a Digimon progresses to the next level.

**Super Evolution: **Specific term for evolving to the Ultimate Level.

**Leap Evolution: **Specific term for evolving to the Mega Level from Champion.

**Degenerate: **The action by which a Digimon returns to a lower evolution level.

**Digiscript: **A pictographic language used in the Digital World. All Digimon are born with a basic understanding of it, but they must study to gain an in depth understanding.

**Attack Declarations: **All Digimon of reasonable intelligence call out the names of their special techniques before using them. The reason for this is likely that the Digimon wish to let their opponent know their capabilities, so that a fight with a worthy opponent becomes more challenging. This is tied to the fact that Digimon tend to seek out strong opponents to prove their own strength (i.e. A fight against someone who isn't smart enough to protect themselves when a powerful attack is coming, really isn't worthwhile).

**Chrome Digizoid: **Chrome Digizoid is a type of metal exclusive to the Digital World. It is incredibly strong, and in most cases can only be damaged by other Chrome Digizoid objects. Standard Chrome Digizoid is silver in colour, but other varieties including blue (light weight; speed based), red (heavy; defense based) and gold (high degree of sharpness; offence based) exist. Due to the fact that many Digimon develop Chrome Digizoid weapons and/or armour during the evolution process, it is possible that the metal contains organic components.

**The 'Myth' of Humans: **Due to the fact that the Human and Digital Worlds are generally isolated from each other, one does not usually acknowledge the existence of the other. In the case of the Human World, most of them have no concept whatsoever of the Digital World. In the Digital World, there were some who had knowledge of the Human World's existence. However, because so few actually had this knowledge, it became widely accepted as a myth. This myth was dispelled by the coming of the Children of Virtue.

**The Ancient War: **When the Digital World was still relatively young, the seven Demon Lords sought to conquer it by forcible means. This led to the eventual war with the Benevolent Masters. This war threatened to consume the entire Digital World, until the Benevolent Masters sealed the Final battle to within the Dark Area. During the final battle, the Benevolent Masters succeeded in defeating the Demon Lords, but were unable to completely destroy them. Instead they were kept sealed within the Dark Area, watched over by the Benevolent Masters.

**Morality of the Digital World: **In the Digital World, fighting is a way of life for many. As such, the act of killing an opponent is not necessarily considered evil. Digimon who fight generally follow a principle of 'survival of the fittest', where the strong eliminate the weak. However; as Digimon grow more intelligent, they generally turn away from their roots of struggle and conflict, seeking out more fulfilling endeavors.

If anyone has any requests on other information they would like to see about this world, don't hesitate to ask. I'll do what I can to make sure that you get the info you want about my rendition of the Digital World.


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